A Charmed Covenant
by EverWorld Fall
Summary: Two worlds collide as the Sons are sent to live with the oldest Charmed One. Relationships form as a familiar enemy tries to reunite the Underworld. TylerxOC, ReidxOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't any of it beyond the DVD's. Tried to catch any mistakes but might have missed some. Would appreciate reviews purely to know if people like my story

Chapter 1: Another day, another crisis

A swirl of blue lights highlighted the bridge. The light faded to show three women in the middle of an argument. An argument was not an uncommon occurrence for these three people. They argued like sisters because they are sisters. They were Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, known to the magical world as the Charmed Ones. They were considered the greatest force of good the world had ever known according to the side of good. Of course the Underworld called them the most annoying goody two-shoes witches the world had ever seen.

"Paige, why exactly are we here? I thought we had already agreed that we don't want anything to do with the Elders again?"

"Piper, I told you, the Elders said that there is a rising threat and they think it might be directed at us or our children. I know that we aren't fans of the Elders after everything that's happened, but I am a Whitelighter and they are just trying to help. You of all people should know that."

Piper sighed as the sisters dropped hands. "I know that they are just trying to help; they've always been trying to help. But after all they've done to our family, I still don't really want to trust them and neither should you!"

Before they could start yelling at each other, Phoebe broke in, playing the mediator. "Paige, did they say what this threat is?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll explain it when they get here."

"Yes, we will." Another swirl of lights appeared and cleared to show a figure cloaked in a white gown trimmed in gold. "Hello again, Paige. Piper, Phoebe, I am the Elder Almira and I'm here to tell you about this new power."

"Then talk," Piper said.

"Here is what we know. As you know your line started with Melinda Warren before the Salem Witch Trials. Although she died, her daughter survived and the line continued until you three, four including Prue, were born and continued to your children."

"Of course we know that," Piper broke in. "I delivered Melinda!"

"Yes, of course. However, what you don't know is that there was another coven of witches that was harmed by but survived the Trials. This coven is not related as you are and the power they have is different but they are as powerful as you three in their own right. Anyway, during the Trials, five families existed. However, one family, more specifically the only son, betrayed the others and was killed. Acting as a succubus before his death, he impregnated a widow who gave birth to a son eleven months after her husband's death. Thus, the line of Putnam continued on under the new name of Pope. The other four families were unaware of this and they formed a Covenant of Silence to protect themselves from being exposed. After the betrayal, the four families moved to Ipswich where they have resided since."

Phoebe interrupted. Although the history lesson was interesting and Salem and other witches was something she had been wanting to research, she also wanted to get back to Coop. And in order to do that, she needed the Elder to get to the point. "So wait, what does this have to do with us?"

"Well, the five lines have continued to this day. Recently the fifth son has attacked the other four. Because of him, the other four are in danger from him and themselves. It is our wish that you help these boys before they are destroyed or they expose magic to the world. We also believe that the fifth son might be trying to reunite the Underworld."

"You mean he's trying to become the Source?" Piper felt like she couldn't breathe. Out of all the demons they've faced, the Source was the worst and the one she feared the most.

"We are not positive if that is what he is trying to do, but it seems that way, which is another reason why we want you to protect these four boys because they may be the only ones who can stop him. However, after past…dealings with you Halliwells, we are asking for your help and not demanding it. We know none of you respond well to commands. So here we are, asking you. Will you help save these boys and possibly the world again?"

"Elder Almira, can we discuss this first?" Paige asked. At the Whitelighter's nod of approval, they moved a few feet away and discussed amongst each other. After a few tense moments, the three turned back to the angel. "We'll help," Piper said. "But it's up to you to get them here so we can help them. There is no way we can leave San Francisco, so they will have to come here. Understood?"

"Yes. We will get them here as soon as possible. Thank you."

The Elder orbed out. Paige turned to her sisters and smiled. "So how many apocalypses does this make for us?"

Phoebe laughed while Piper said "Who knows? I've lost count. C'mon, let's go home so we can reveal the new crisis in our lives. And just about when I was ready to redecorate the restaurant."

Paige orbed them home, Phoebe saying along the way, her voice echoing slightly, "Piper, _Charmed_ can wait while there are lives to save!"

**

* * *

**Kate sighed while Sarah rolled her eyes. They _were_ sitting in Nicky's having a nice time with their boyfriends until now. What was happening was a pretty common occurrence at the local teen hangout. Reid had been playing pool against Abbott when he claimed that Reid had cheated, which he probably had. A shoving match had started between the two and they had taken it outside. Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler had followed them out. Aaron had come storming in a couple of seconds ago. Now the boys were out there probably yelling at Reid for Using.

Those who had known about the Power after Caleb's ascension thought they were safe even though Chase's body had never been found. Caleb was pretty sure that there was no way Chase could have survived the fight, the fire, and the following explosion. The other sons agreed with him.

They had been proven wrong though when the fifth and oldest son had come after Pogue during his ascension. They battled it out and in the end, Pogue had won. The fight had convinced him to finally tell Kate the truth about him. She had been mad at first that he had kept it a secret and that Sarah had found out before her because of Caleb telling her from the first time Chase had come around. She eventually forgave him though and their relationship was even stronger than before. They didn't get as jealous of other people because they both stopped flirting with others. They didn't fight as much and kept nothing from each other from the time Pogue had told her about the Covenant.

After Pogue, they again thought they were safe. With the amount of Using Chase did, he had to be dead soon. Then, once more, he came back. He inserted himself into the school and tried to worm his way back into the circle of friends. They managed to block his attempts at the boys' lives and trying to turn the girls against them. It came time for Reid's ascension. He ascended, Chase attacked. They defeated him but were surprised by his lack of aging. During Tyler's ascension, he taunted them with hints that he had broken the curse and now only aged normally, like a person without powers. They defeated him again and thought that it was for good this time. As far as they were concerned, he had either disappeared again or was finally dead. It was the end of school and they hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks, ever since Tyler's ascension.

All the fighting with him had a very serious downside though .The four boys were now dangerously close to being addicted because they had Used to fight him each time after Caleb's ascension. They were all fighting it but Reid was losing. He had been the closest to addiction before Chase Collins and found it too easy to Use. The others tried to help, but found it hard as well.

After a few more minutes, the boys came back in. Reid was red in the face and all the boys were trying to hide how upset they were. They walked over to the table. Caleb spoke up. "Hey, we're going to split. Do you need a ride home?"

Kate and Sarah shook their heads and Sarah said that she had driven that night. "I'm sorry Sarah, but we have some stuff to do and deal with."

"Caleb, honey, it's okay. We'll hang out later. Go be with your brothers. Reid needs your help."

Reid looked up, a look of shame and annoyance on his face. He knew they cared about him and were only trying to help. He appreciated the concern, but at the same time he was bothered by it. He was used to being independent, relying only on himself, and was feeling smothered by their hovering and was having difficulty getting past that feeling.

The boys left Nicky's and went back to Caleb's house. His mom knew more about the Power than the other mothers and it was easier to get a hold of Gorman at Caleb's house.

They entered through the fancy doorway and headed up the stairs. They were planning on trying some of the meditation exercises Caleb had found in the Book of Damnation. They hoped that it would calm their urges to Use. They were about halfway up when they heard Caleb's name called out. "Caleb? Caleb, could you come here please? You also Pogue, Reid, and Tyler."

The four sons headed back downstairs and headed into the living room. They walked in and stopped in surprise. All of the parents were there. Reid was surprised to see that even his parents were there. They no longer stayed in Ipswich and relied on the housekeeper to keep an eye on Reid and to keep him out of trouble. They checked up on him a few times a year, but usually just over the phone. They also noticed Gorman sitting in a corner and a figure they didn't recognize sitting on another chair.

Tyler was the first to speak up, a little unusual for him. Usually either Caleb or Reid, if he was too impatient to wait for Caleb, spoke up first in group meetings like this. "Mom, Dad? What's going on?"

Mr. Simms looked at the other parents. "Boys, as you know, we've been concerned about you becoming addicted because of Chase attacking you all the time. We're at a lost on how to help you beyond attempting to strip you of your powers and as you all know that method hardly ever works and most often ends in death. Luckily, there is someone that may have a way to help you." He gestured for the unknown figure to stand up. As the figure stood up, the boys noticed that the person was actually a woman and was clothed in a white and gold dress-type thing. She started speaking.

"I have already told your parents about me but I will repeat it for all of your benefits. First off, my name is Almira. Do you boys know about anything about other types of magic? Or a trio of witches known as the Charmed Ones?" The boys all shook their heads, although the words Charmed Ones sounded familiar to Caleb. "No? How about whitelighters or Elders?"

Tyler interrupted. "Whitelighters? I think I remember reading about something called whitelighters in one of our books. Do you remember Caleb? Something about them being guardian angels or something for witches." Caleb nodded. Now that Tyler had said something, he did remember reading something about it.

The woman continued speaking. "Well that makes things a little easier. Yes, whitelighters are like guardian angels for witches how follow the Wiccan Rede. We also guide people who are destined to become Whitelighters on the event of their death. I am a whitelighter and an Elder. Elders are whitelighters; we're just a group of them who basically rule over the other whitelighters and to some extent, as we have learned over the years, the side of good. On the good side are three witches known as the Charmed Ones. They and their children are the greatest force of good the world has ever known, along with their friend Billie Jenkins and her family. And we believe that they may be able to help you with the addiction and possibly with the curse. Will you be willing to go to them?"

They boys looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. They mind-connected with each other, something they had learned they could do with each other without Using.

"_Is this person for real?"_ they all thought at the same time. Pogue continued. _"I think she might be. You guys know that I'm good at reading people and I'm getting nothing but good intentions from her."_

Reid broke in. G_uys, if she can help us-me, maybe we should give it a shot. I don't want to die because of the power we have just because I can't help Using."_

Caleb nodded and then spoke aloud. "Mom? Gorman? Do you think this is a good idea?" They nodded, as did all of the parents even though they hadn't really been asked. He then looked at this Elder person. "We'll go with you and meet these Charmed Ones. See if they can help us."

Elder Almira nodded. "Then everyone is in agreement. I will come back for you in a few days. We have no idea how long this "rehabilitation" will last, so I would pack for awhile and make arrangements with your school for homework and whatnot."

"No need. We only have a couple of days left and we can skip them." Tyler said.

"Very well. I will still give you a few days to prepare and give the chance for the Halliwells to prepare also." She started walking out of the room, not wanting to orb and freak them out even more. She was interrupted one more time.

"Where are we going?" Pogue asked.

"San Francisco," She responded.

The Sons all grinned. Even if the reason for them going was serious, it was still better than being stuck in Ipswich for their summer before college. Reid summed up how they were all feeling quite nicely. "California, here we come!"


	2. Chapter 2

Don't own it. Would appreciate reviews so I know what people think.

Chapter 2: Meet the Halliwells and calling dibs

A couple of days had gone by since the Sons of Ipswich had met the Elder Almira and made the choice to meet the Halliwells.

Caleb and Pogue had explained what was really happening to their girlfriends. They told everyone else that they were going on a surprise vacation their parents had set up for them but Sarah and Kate knew the truth. They weren't particularly happy about it either, that their boyfriends would be gone for who knows how long and that they were leaving to meet three female witches. However, after having a big fight (mostly between Kate and Pogue), they calmed down and confessed that it would probably be for the best. They of course didn't want their boyfriends or two of their good friends getting addicted and dying.

So the boys were lounging around Caleb's living room, waiting for their ride to San Francisco to get there. "How do you think we're getting there? Broomsticks? Flying vacuum cleaners like on _Sabrina?_"

Reid burst out laughing. "Vacuum cleaners? _Sabrina?_ Pogue, man grow a pair."

The long haired boy grabbed the throw pillow next to him and threw it at Reid's head. "Dude, my little girl cousin likes the show and makes me watch reruns with her whenever I'm babysitting her."

"I don't know Pogue." Tyler said. "I think Reid is right. Grow a pair and read a book or something."

"Of course Baby Boy says read a book. He probably reads those romance books that chicks love." Reid laughed. Tyler let his eyes bleed black without thinking, preparing to Use to throw more pillows at Reid.

"TYLER! Stop Using." Tyler looked at Caleb and forced the power back down, lowering his eyes to the floor. "Okay, okay, you three. Let's just keep an eye out for the Elder to come get us instead of fighting with each other." Caleb finished reprimanding his brothers. He moved away from the window he had been standing at and collapsed in a nearby armchair. The boys were silent for a few seconds and then started talking about unimportant things. Reid was interrupted in a middle of a story about another girl he knew by an unfamiliar swirl of blue lights in the middle of the room. The lights moved in front of Reid, washing his face in a sparkly blue light. He jumped to see a figure in front of him.

"What the- How the hell did you do that?" The figure that surprised them was none other than the Elder Almira. The boys all had looks of confusion written on their faces.

"I'm sorry to have surprised you. This in the way whitelighters travel. It's called orbing and it allows us to travel across the world quickly. This is how we're getting to San Francisco and to the Halliwell Manor. If you could hold onto your luggage and each touch a part of my arm, we'll be on our way."

The boys looked at each other. They had already decided to trust the Elder, but this was a little beyond them. Shrugging, Caleb grabbed his duffel bag and put a hand on Almira's shoulder. The other boys followed Caleb's example and they disappeared in a bunch of blue orbs.

**

* * *

**"1329 Prescott Street" Tyler read off of the house. The Elder had dropped them off in front of a pink Victorian house and then had left, telling them to go ring the doorbell. "Well, here we are. Since she dropped us off here, I guess this is where we're supposed to be."

"_Thank you Captain Obvious."_ Reid thought. Tyler did have the unfortunate ability of stating the obvious at times.

"Reid." Tyler sighed. "Who wants to ring the doorbell?"

Reid took a step forward, swinging his bag onto his shoulder. Then he turned around and faced them, a smirk gracing his face. "Boys, it's time for you to see how a man acts in the face of the unknown." He headed up the steps, Tyler's chuckling following him. That was Reid for you. Always diving head first into action without thinking about the consequences. He followed Reid up the steps just as he rang the bell, Pogue and Caleb moving behind Tyler.

Ding dong. They could faintly hear the sound of someone running down the stairs. The door swung open, revealing a petite pretty young woman with brown hair that fell in soft waves to her shoulders. Her brown eyes looked at them curiously. "Hi. Can I help you with something?"

"Oh God yes!" Reid muttered.

Tyler hit Reid in the back with his shoulder and pushed his way past his blonde friend. Holding his hand out, he said "Hi, I'm Tyler Simms and these are my friends Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, and this idiot is Reid Garwin."

Shaking his hand the girl replied "I'm Melinda Halliwell, nice to meet you. So, can I help you with something or is this just a random meet and greet?"

"Halliwell? Actually, yes. We're looking for a Piper Halliwell. Is she a relation of yours or are we at the completely wrong house?"

"No, you're at the right place. Piper's my mom, but she's not here right now. How do you know my mom?"

Caleb spoke up. "We don't actually know your mom but we were told she and her sisters could help us. Almira sent us?"

"Oh. OH! So, you're innocents?"

Caleb looked at Pogue, his eyes holding question marks. "Yes. Yeah, we're innocents" Pogue said.

Melinda hesitated. They knew of her family but had hesitated when she asked if they were innocents. Something seemed a little off about them but she wasn't really sure. If they turned out to be warlocks or demons or something evil, she wasn't strong enough by herself to defeat all four of them. Maybe she should get Wyatt. Just then, she heard a noise behind her and looked over her shoulder. Wyatt was coming down the stairs. "Uh guys? Can you hold on a sec? Let me talk to my brother real quick." At Tyler's nod of understanding, Melinda closed the door gently in their faces.

She turned and faced her brother Wyatt. "Hey, Wy. Where's Chris?"

"Out with Bianca." They both made faces at the Phoenix's name. Melinda couldn't understand what her smart, funny, cute brother saw in that conniving slutty witch who claimed she was good, but Melinda maintained that Bianca was inherently evil. "What's going on Mel? Who is that?"

"They say they're innocents, but I don't know. I kinda got the feeling that they were hiding something. They're looking for Mom though and they know Almira."

"Well, we could always call Almira here and see what she says. But I'm here, so even if they are demons or warlocks instead of innocents needing help, I can take care of them." Wyatt had a protective gleam in his eyes, his hands flexing.

"You know Wy, you can be a little scary when it comes to your family. Oh twice blessed one, demons tremble before you!"

Wyatt rolled his eyes and opened the door, revealing the Sons waiting patiently. Well, the two oldest and Tyler were. Reid had his arms crossed and his foot was tapping. Wyatt looked at him, his eyebrows raised. "Come on in guys. I'm Wyatt, this weirdo's oldest brother" he said, gesturing to Melinda. She rolled her eyes and left. "Make yourselves at home. Our parents should be back in a bit. We can just hang out in the solarium and get to know each other."

The boys followed the tall blonde man into what they assumed was the solarium and set their bags next to a wall. Melinda had already claimed a chair for herself and sat there reading. "Mel, you have two days left before summer and you're still doing homework? You know I didn't mind high school and Chris would have lived there if he could have, but we still didn't do homework during finals week. You take geek to a whole new level."

Mel glared at her older brother. _**Gee, thanks big brother for labeling me as a freak in front of four incredibly hot guys **_she thought. Knowing her brother though, he meant to do that. He and Chris were both incredibly overprotective when it came to her and boys. So much so that even though she was 17, almost 18, she hadn't had a serious boyfriend. Any guy she met would meet her brothers and then run out on her, terrified. "Actually Wyatt, I'm not reading something for school. I'm reading _The Chronicles of Narnia_."

Tyler smiled. _"Chronicles of Narnia_ is my favorite series. What book are you on?" He sat down next to Mel and they started talking about their favorite books and authors.

Caleb laughed. "So I guess your sister is a big bookworm like Baby Boy is?"

"Baby Boy?" Wyatt asked.

"Oh, it's our nickname for Tyler. He's the youngest in our group."

Wyatt nodded. "Got it. We sometimes call Mel Tink. Not original but when she was younger, she was obsessed with fairies. So Chris, our other brother, nicknamed her Tink after Tinkerbell. She usually just goes by Mel though. So, are you guys related?

Pogue was listening to their conversation, occasionally jumping in. Tyler and Mel had joined the other's conversation. The only one not involved was Reid; he had pretty much tuned out. He would have made another move on the girl but it seemed to him like Tyler might like her. When Tyler showed an interest, he backed off…most of the time. It's just what friends did. So he had nothing better to do besides tune out. However, he was startled out of his day dream when a car door slammed. Footsteps pounded up the steps outside. Mel and Wyatt looked up at the same time, their eyes meeting.

"Five bucks it's Chris. Fight with Bianca."

"No dice Wyatt. Ten bucks it's Angela with boy problems."

"You're on. Got your ten bucks ready?"

A feminine voice yelled out as the front door opened. "Mel. Mel, you won't believe what happened. Jason was being a total p-." The slender blonde stuttered to a stop as she caught sight of everyone staring at her. "Uh, hi?"

Mel stood up. "I'll talk to you guys later. We can go up to my room Angela." She walked over to her oldest brother and held out her hand. He dug into his pocket, pulled out a ten and handed it to her. "Thanks! Let's go Ang!" The two girls ran up the stairs laughing. There was a lot to talk about.

**

* * *

**"Reid. Reid. Reid!" Reid blinked, slowly coming back to Earth.

"Baby Boy, you can stop waving your hand in front of my face. Hey, I call dibs!"

Wyatt stood up, a look of anger shadowing his face. "You're calling dibs on my sister?" he said, slowly enunciating each word. He seemed to get bigger in his fury.

Caleb and Pogue groaned while Tyler stiffened. Was he going to have to fight Reid for Melinda? True, he had only met her today but he already liked her and wanted a chance to date her. Tyler's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed objects in the room were shaking.

Reid's eyes grew a little bigger. Not that he was scared of Wyatt but he did seem ready to hurt someone. Now, it wasn't fear but more of a concern for his life. "No! No dibs on your sister! Not that she's not attractive…"

The objects started to levitate a little bit, still shaking. It was clear that Wyatt was trying to keep a hold of his emotions while still struggling with his desire to protect his little sister from good-for-nothing boys.

"I was talking about the blonde! Who was that?"

Wyatt blew out of his breath, gaining control when he learned the blonde boy wasn't after his sister. "That was Angela Jenkins, a friend of the family. I don't like this whole dibs thing but Angie can take care of herself. If she doesn't like you, you'll know. And you're ears will probably be bleeding because of her telling you that.

"And your sister can't?" Tyler asked.

"That's different. She's my baby sister." Caleb nodded; he got what Wyatt meant. Even though they weren't related, the boys were still his brothers. His was a different sort of protectiveness, but he still knew what Wyatt was talking about. Wyatt looked out the window. "I'm going to go help my mom and then you guys can meet her and the rest of the family." He started walking out of the room and then stopped. "If any of you hurt my sister, Chris and I will tear that person apart. Literally." He left the room.

Reid clapped Tyler on the shoulder. "Good luck man. You're going to need it."

"What? I don't like Melinda. We just met. I mean, yeah she's cute and everything but still."

Caleb raised his eyebrows and looked at the youngest skeptically. "What's not to like? She's pretty, seems smart, she's funny, and she has strong bonds with her family."

"Strong bonds with her family?" Pogue punched Caleb on the arm. "Can you be anymore gay?"

"You're both gay and whipped by the way. Ty, man, we've known each other our whole lives and I can tell when you like a girl. Granted, it doesn't happen very often, in fact I was thinking maybe you were gay-"

"I'm not gay Reid. I just prefer the girls that I date have brains that they actually use, unlike the girls you like. But, you're not gonna go after Melinda?"

"Nope, she's all yours." Tyler grinned and the boys laughed.

**

* * *

**Giggling, the two girls burst into Melinda's small room. Mel flopped on her bed and looked at her best friend who was currently sitting on Mel's computer chair. "So, what's up with Jason? What did he do now?"

Angela flipped her blonde hair. "Oh, he cheated on me; I kicked his ass and broke up with him. He doesn't matter. What does matter, though, are those four extremely hot boys in your living room. And I'm not including your brother in that group, although Wyatt is really cute."

Mel made a face. She knew that her brothers and male cousins were cute, but she did not need to hear it. "Eww. You know that creeps me out when you say Wyatt is cute. Anyway, their names are Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Tyler. Reid is the blonde, Pogue has the long hair, Caleb's the oldest, and Tyler's the youngest. From what I could tell, Caleb and Pogue have girlfriends but Reid and Tyler are single."

"And you're interested in…?"

"Please Angela! I've only known them for an hour or so."

"And you're interested in…?" Angie repeated. She knew her friend and could tell when Mel liked someone.

Mel groaned. Angie knew her a little too well. "Well, if I had to choose…Tyler."

"Haha, I knew it! Totally cool with it, so long as I get dibs on the blonde. I like his looks."

"You would. It seems like you always fall for blond bad boys." Mel smirked.

Angie gasped dramatically. "Name three."

Mel started to tick off on her fingers. "Mark. Travis. Carson. Carter."

"Okay, okay! I said three."

"Jason," Mel snuck in. Angela glared at her and Mel made a face back. They held each other's eyes for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

Just then Piper called up to them. "Girls! We're ordering pizza for dinner. And there's stuff we have to talk about."

Angela looked at her friend. "Your mom is going to order pizza instead of cooking dinner. Is she possessed?"

Mel smiled. "Could be. They were out vanquishing demons. Maybe we should do a spell?"

"How about a spell to attract those two guys?"

"And you know how well that turned out for my mom and Aunt Phoebe when they cast the "to attract a lover spell" when they were first learning their powers."

"Oh fine. Be the reasonable Wiccan and ruin my fun."

"Whatever. Let's go eat."

"And find out where the boys are going to stay while they're here?"

"Maybe," Mel shrugged. The girls ran down stairs, ready for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

Don't own it. Would appreciate reviews; I'd like to know what people think of my story

Chapter 3: Fights, teasing, and water disasters

The girls had come down stairs to see the entire Halliwell family spread out through the Manor. The Sons had met everyone in the family, except for the deceased. Melinda had promised them that they could meet her great grandmother later. The boys had also received the same warning about Melinda from her dark haired older brother, Chris. Reid had grinned at Tyler again and then proceeded to flirt with Angela, she doing the same with him. They quickly made friends with the male cousins, connecting over sports and stories about girls. Melinda's female cousins were slightly in awe of the boys but got over it soon enough.

The Charmed Ones and their husbands retold some of the stories they had about past vanquishes and deals with demons. Then, Melinda and her brothers shared some of the stories they had, Wyatt and Chris seeming to be dead set on making Melinda seem like an awkward teenager. Reid expressed a little skepticism that the older witches weren't really as powerful as they claimed to be. The aunts smirked and their kids, from the oldest to the youngest, groaned. They knew that look; it was the same look they got when they were in trouble.

To prove their point, Piper had frozen him, Phoebe incanted a spell to make him act like a little girl, and Paige had orbed him upstairs into the attic. Then, to top it all off, Billie had used her projection powers to show him some demons just as he unfroze. Pogue and Tyler rolled with laughter while Caleb tried not to laugh once they heard Reid screaming in a high pitched voice. He finally gave in to laughing when Wyatt assured him that his mom and aunts wouldn't hurt him and Billie dissolved her apparitions. Reid came back down into the dining room, a little pale. Phoebe released her spell and Reid apologized for doubting them in his own voice.

After ragging on Reid for the way he screamed, the boys told the Wiccans about their lives. They explained all they knew about their Powers and Chase. They shared how they were close to addiction and what that meant to them and how they could die from overusing the Power. At the request of Piper, Caleb, the farthest away from addiction, gave them a brief demonstration of the Powers.

Piper had ended the evening by saying they would research ways to save the sons. Everyone that didn't live in the Manor left, Paige orbing her family and Billie's home, Coop doing his Cupid-disappearing thing that didn't really have a name with his. Piper set the Sons up in the living room with sleeping bags and had told them they would figure out better sleeping arrangements the next day.

Piper and Leo went to their bedroom and the house quieted down. The oldest Charmed One sat at her vanity table brushing her hair. Leo came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders. She smiled at his reflection. "You didn't tell the kids or those boys about Chase Collins being the Source."

Piper sighed. She and her sisters had decided to hide that suspicion from their children. And Phoebe felt they should try to help the Sons with their powers before telling them Chase was probably going to try to destroy the magical world. "No need to scare them if we don't know for sure. The Elders only think that's what he's doing. Besides, he's a teenager. We handled Christy, I think we can handle him."

"Piper…"

"I know, don't get cocky. And I won't. Not after everything we've been through. Still, we'll cross that bridge when we need to and tell them. Anyway, Wyatt and Chris know. They're adults and I couldn't keep them in the dark. They're still our babies and we'll protect them as much as possible, but they still should know."

"You're right. How did you get to be so smart?"

"Experience, talks with Mom and Grams, and it helps that I have a wonderful husband."

Leo smiled. "Yeah, I guess that helps." He watched his wife in the mirror. "It still gets me, you know?"

Piper frowned. "What does?"

"How lucky I am to have you and how much I love you even after all these years."

Piper smiled, stood up, and moved into his arms. Meeting his lips with her own, she whispered her love back to him. Night fell, Piper and Leo holding each other as everyone else slept.

* * *

Since it was Sunday, pretty much everyone was sleeping in. Caleb woke up early, hearing some noises coming from the kitchen. He checked his cell phone for the time and saw it was 7:30. He got out of his sleeping bag and walked into the kitchen.

Piper looked up from the mixing bowl. "Oh, Caleb. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, it's okay. I'm not really one for sleeping in anyways. Umm, Piper. You have a little-" Caleb gestured toward her cheek. "I think it's flour."

Piper wiped her cheek and grinned. "I was making some bread for dinner tonight. Do you and your friends like waffles? I was going to make some for breakfast today."

"We'll eat pretty much anything, none of us are picky. Can I do anything to help?"

Caleb saw that Melinda was a younger version of her mother when she smiled. "Do you cook?"

"Yeah, I'm really good at boiling water and burning toast. No, surprisingly, Reid is the cook out of the four of us. But I follow directions really well."

Piper laughed. "Okay then, you can get some eggs out of the refrigerator." Caleb and Piper worked in comfortable silence for awhile until a banging broke through the air. Caleb's eyes rose to the ceiling but Piper merely kept cooking bacon. "Melinda's up," she commented. Yelling followed the banging. "And so is everyone else."

"Chris! Chris, get out of the bathroom. C'mon, I'm gonna be late!!! Christopher Perry Halliwell!" More banging and then Melinda ran down the stairs and burst into the kitchen. She was wearing jeans and a tank top. "Mom, if Chris doesn't get out of the bathroom, I'm going to be late."

"Honey, you should have just woken up earlier. You know he's a bathroom hog. He takes after Prue."

"Yeah, and he also knows I get up at 7 every Sunday to go running with Angie. And yet he still hogs the bathroom!"

"Why don't you just use the downstairs Mel?" Leo asked as he walked in, followed by Tyler and Pogue. Reid shuffled in after them, looking very tired.

Mel gave a long suffering sigh and her mother and father shared an amused look. Their daughter, while not very girly, could be very theatrical when she wanted to be. "Because Wyatt is in that one."

Chris sauntered into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice. He got down more glasses for everyone else. "The bathroom is all yours Tink."

"Finally. You know, just wait until I get the power to blow people up like Mom. Then we'll see if you spend so much time in the bathroom."

"Yeah and I'll just orb back like Dad did when Mom would blow him up." Piper tried to shush them but it wasn't really working.

Melinda smiled sweetly. "You know, Chris, all of my friends think you're really cute. Personally, I can't see it but, hey, to each their own. But no matter how long you spend in front of the mirror, Bianca still won't sleep with you." With that last shot, Mel exited out of the kitchen.

Tyler cocked his head. "Did she just flounce out?"

Chris was smirking; he loved fighting with his sister. Her comebacks always amused him. Although they weren't always good, her insults were pretty funny most of the time. "Yeah, Tink likes to be dramatic. Especially when I hog the bathroom."

"Chris, why do you annoy Mel so much?" Wyatt asked as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a plate.

"Because it's fun." Piper, Leo, and Chris answered at the same time. Piper put a few more plates out and then told everyone to dig in. They were all eating when Mel ran back downstairs, this time dressed in a running outfit. A car honked outside.

"That's Angie. Gotta go."

"Not without eating. Sit down, I'll tell Angela to come in and eat too."

Reid stood up. "I'll go tell her for you." He walked out.

Pogue looked over at Caleb, smirking. "Yeah, more like make a move." Tyler laughed and Melinda thought it was lucky her parents hadn't heard that. Her dad might just start another conversation about safe sex or something. God forbid.

Chris grinned. "You mean he's got a crush on Angie? Good luck to him then. He's gonna need it."

"If you can call it a crush," Tyler said. "Mostly, Reid just sleeps with girls and moves on."

"Well Angie kinda does the same thing only she dates them for awhile and then dumps 'em for no reason," Wyatt said. Chris nodded in confirmation.

Melinda explained her best friend to the Sons. "It's not really for no reason but at the same time, it's kind of her fault anyway. See, Angela likes blonde bad boys. Which seems to fit Reid perfectly. Anyway, the relationship starts out fine and then she starts freaking out on the guy. Like she thinks he's cheating on her or something and she accuses him of it. Most of the time, it is true but in a way, it's her fault because she deliberately picks guys who will cheat or lie. So then she breaks up with him and moves onto the next bad boy."

Caleb spoke up for his friend. "Reid does sleep and leave girls but he doesn't hurt them deliberately. He tells them straight out that he's not looking for a relationship and that he won't call in the morning." Caleb chuckled quietly. "Who knows? Maybe your friend and our friend will find something in each other."

* * *

While the others were talking in the kitchen, Reid was standing by the front door. He ran a hand through his hair to make it messier. He briefly wished he was fully dressed and not just wearing grey sweatpants and a black wife beater. Oh, well. He opened the door and stepped outside. He watched the blonde female get out of her car, dressed in a similar outfit to Melinda's. "Hey," he called out.

Angie looked up at him, a little smile gracing her face. She walked up toward him. "Hey, Blondie."

"Could say the same to you," he said. Angela laughed.

"So, Piper wants you to come eat breakfast before you and Mel go running."

"Oh really? That's Piper for you, trying to be everyone's mom and stuffing you with food." They continued to mindlessly chat as Angie and Reid moved closer to each other without really planning it. Angela tilted her head back to look in his eyes. She was a taller than average height for a girl but he had her by a few inches. "You know what? Let's just get this out of the way." She reached up and pulled his head down to hers.

He moved his lips over hers, putting his hands on her waist. She threaded her hands in his hair as his tongue traced the seam of her closed lips. She parted them and kissed him back a little more forcefully. After what felt like hours because of her head spinning but was really only a few more seconds, Angie broke the kiss and pulled back a little to breathe. "Wow," she said, releasing a slightly shaky breath.

Although Reid felt the same (his head had spun too when she kissed back), he covered it up with his usual with his bad boy persona. He smirked, a knowing look coming into his eyes. For a reason she couldn't explain, that gleam in his eyes irritated her. So she decided to have a little fun and widened her eyes in pity.

"That was really bad." She winced in sympathy.

"What?!?"

"It's okay," she said soothingly. "I'm sure you gave it your best shot, but Reid honey, it was kinda weak."

"Yeah, right," Reid snorted. "Tell the truth, I made your knees weak and your head spin."

"You keep telling yourself that. I'm sure you'll improve with some practice. Maybe you can practice on your pillow!"

Reid's mouth moved soundlessly. He finally found his voice after gaping at her. "Look, I'll kiss you so hard you collapse. No one implies Reid Garwin can't kiss!"

"Talking about yourself in the third person is usually a sign of some kind of mental disease. But, hey, kiss me again if you want. Not that anything will change, but go for it Cowboy."

Reid yanked Angie to him, their bodies flush against each other. He pulled her onto her tiptoes so their faces were level and claimed possession of her mouth. Releasing her, he raised his eyebrow.

"Better. Keep trying and you'll get there one day big boy," she smiled. She bit her kiss swollen bottom lip as her eyes danced in laughter. Because he looked like he was ready to grab her and either kiss or shake her and she was betting on the latter because she could see the frustration written on his face, Angie was a little glad when the door opened. Mel stepped out, an eyebrow raised at the two teenagers on the Manor's front step. Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb were behind her and were vainly trying to hold their laughter in on seeing Reid's frustrated face.

"Angie, you ready to go running?" Mel asked, a couple pieces of toast held in her hand. Angie nodded and slipped out of Reid's grasp.

Mel brushed past the boys and walked down the steps. Turning to Reid again, Angie patted Reid's cheek. "Don't worry Reid. I can always tutor you." She laughed and ran down the stairs and got in her car. She started talking and as the car sped away, Mel threw her head back in laughter. Reid has a sinking suspicion Angie was talking about the teasing she had just done.

"Reid? What happened?"

"I have no idea Baby Boy but I think I'm in love. She is amazing…and completely annoying."

The Sons laughed at their blonde friend and they headed back inside. Caleb insisted they help Piper around the house and that included cleaning up after breakfast. As they were cleaning up, Piper left a list of other chores Caleb had volunteered them for and rushed out to deal with a problem at her restaurant. Leo had gone to Magic School for paperwork and lesson plans and Wyatt and Chris had gotten called by a charge. Before orbing out, Wyatt told them that if they had a problem before he or his siblings got home, to call out his or Chris's name and they would get back as soon as possible. Caleb and the other boys quickly took showers and then divided up the chores.

* * *

Mel noticed that her mom's car was gone after Angie had dropped her off after their run. _**Must have been a problem at the restaurant**_ she thought. Taking off her shoes, Mel walked toward the kitchen, intent on getting a bottle of water. Reaching the doorway, she stopped in horror. Soap and water were coming out of the hallway connected to the back door and the kitchen and was spreading to the kitchen floor. Tyler and his friends were looking at it dumbfounded. "Wha?" Mel gasped. "What? What happened?"

They whipped their heads around to see Mel standing horror struck in the doorway. "Well, you see…" Tyler started. "Your mom left us a list of chores we could do. And on it was laundry. So I started a load and put a normal amount of detergent in. But then I think everyone else added some and this happened."

Mel snapped out of her daze and took control. "Pogue, Caleb, Reid, upstairs is a linen closet next to the bathroom. Go; get some towels so we can get this cleaned up. Tyler, help me shut it off and start mopping." The three sons left. Mel took her socks off and waded through the soapy water, making her way toward the hallway. She shut off the washer and grabbed two maps. Walking back out into the kitchen, she went to hand one to Tyler when Mel stepped wrong and her feet went flying out from under her. Tyler's eyes had widened and he tried to catch her, but as it seems to happen, he fell too. Onto Mel. She had landed heavily on her butt and then fell back on her elbows, her legs spread out before her. Tyler had managed to twist his body before he hit the floor; he landed on his knees and was holding himself up by his hands which were on both sides of her waist so his upper body was somewhat aligned with hers. His right knee was between her legs, his left on the other side of her right leg. Surprise showed on both of their faces.

Mel hung her head back and started laughing, Tyler joining her. Lifting her head back up, Melinda caught her breath when she noticed how close their faces were. Tyler stopped laughing too although a slight smile stayed on his face. His eyes dropped down to her lips and she self-consciously started biting her bottom lip. The youngest Son lowered his head; Mel started breathing a little quicker. Their lips were hair-breadths away, their breaths mingling on each others faces, when suddenly…

"Well. Isn't this an interesting sight. A defenseless Halliwell and a boy toy."


	4. Chapter 4

Don't own it

Chapter 4: The Sons' First Demon Attack

Mel jerked her head to the side. Standing before her and Tyler were two warlocks. After actively fighting evil for three years and watching her family before that, she could tell the difference between warlocks and demons without waiting to see how they would try to kill her. Mel narrowed her eyes and pushed Tyler off of her. Flicking her hands, the two warlocks froze. Mel and Tyler both scrambled to their feet.

"How- how the hell did you do that?" Tyler gasped. Even as he said it he moved in front of the young woman who had quickly become important to him. He had an urge to protect her, even though she had grown up with this life and could handle it better.

Mel noticed the movement and smiled to herself. The protectiveness was something she was used to; her brothers always acted the same way. With her brothers, she felt safe but also annoyed because they wouldn't let her stand on her own. It was different with Tyler though, somehow. She felt safe and comforted, glad to have him there with her. And her stomach was still fluttering from them almost kissing. She wished that they hadn't been interrupted; it wasn't often one of her brothers weren't around and she wasn't sure when she would be able to have a chance to be alone with Tyler again any time soon. "I inherited my mom's power, remember? I can freeze people and time." Mel felt a tingling coming from the place within her body where she drew her power from and the warlocks moved sluggishly. "Not good. Not good!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"They're fighting through my freezes," she flicked her hands and kept flicking them. The two warlocks unfroze quicker and quicker.

"What do we do? Do you want me to Use?"

"No, don't Use. Just…run!" With that, Mel grabbed a nearby serving platter and threw it at them. Tyler grabbed her hand and they ran out into the hallway, meeting the three other boys on the stairs. "Upstairs. Go, go!" Running past them, spurred on by cries of rage coming from the kitchen, she grabbed Caleb's hand as she and Tyler flew past, dragging him up the stairs. Reid and Pogue pounded up the stairs behind them. "The attic," she gasped. "I need the book!"

The five of them burst into the attic. "Bar the door," Mel told the boys as she flipped hurriedly through the Book of Secrets, her family legacy. "Where is it? C'mon, where is it?" she searched the book. "Why hasn't this thing been indexed? Dammit!"

"What are you looking for?" Pogue half yelled as he put a bookcase in front of the door.

"A spell to vanquish warlocks! I know there's one in here. Where is it?" she searched desperately. Mel narrowed her eyes again; her instincts were screaming at her. "Get away from the door!" she yelled. "Get away from the door, NOW!"

Tyler stepped away from the door, toward Mel. "What's-" The door burst open, breaking off at the hinges. The stuff in front of it went flying across the room and Pogue, Caleb and Reid flung themselves on the floor to avoid being hit by any of it.

"Telekinesis, stolen from a witch most likely," Mel interrupted. She flicked her hands again but it didn't work of course. Glancing to her left, Mel saw blessed crystals. She grabbed them and threw them to the four sons. "Put the crystals in a circle around them." The Sons did as they were told and the warlocks were trapped in a cage. One reached out and got shocked. He rubbed his hand as he and the other glared at the five teens. "It's a cage; they can't get out of it."

Caleb breathed a sigh of relief and the Sons walked over to Mel who had her elbows resting on the book, her head in her hands. Tyler reached her first. Putting a hand on her back, he asked her if she was okay.

Mel let out a shuddering breath and Tyler pulled her into a hug. Resting her head on his chest, she said "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just not often someone can work through my freezes and I can't vanquish without a spell, potion, or my brothers. My power, as of right now, is pretty much for defense." Mel straightened her body. "Right, now let's find out who our friends are." Mel walked over to them and told the warlocks to start talking, not really expecting it to work and it didn't. So Melinda grabbed some nearby powder and tossed a pinch of it at the cage. There was an explosion and a flash of light. When it cleared, the caged warlocks were smoking ever so slightly. "Will you talk now or do I need to throw more?" They still didn't say anything and Mel made to throw more of the gray powder.

Reid nudged Tyler. "Dude, she's kinda scary right now." Tyler glared at Reid and the blonde smirked in return.

"Wait! Wait, we'll talk. I am Zahn and this is Morton. We are warlocks and have been charged to kill any Halliwell and Son of Ipswich that we were able to," one of the warlocks said.

"Who are you working for?"

"The future ruler of the Underworld and the bringer of your death, witch. He has magics the like we've never seen before. He and his army will destroy your family and the Sons.

Caleb spoke up. "How do you know of me and my brothers?"

"He knows many things and has shared with us what he wished. And he has personal connections with you and your…brothers. If the situation had been different, you yourself would have called him brother."

"Chase," Caleb said, not as a question but as a statement.

The Sons and Melinda surrounded the book to talk. "Of course it's Chase. It's not like we can have a normal life for more than a couple of weeks!"

Mel half-smiled. "You sounded like my mom just then, Caleb. Always wishing for a normal life. Anyway, that was too easy. They must be planning something; otherwise they wouldn't have told us all that."

"Right now I don't care. I want this done. The next time we meet Chase, I'm killing him." Caleb said this with a steely determination and no one doubted him.

"We're behind you, Cay. You know that," Pogue said. Tyler and Reid nodded.

"That's good and all and I do believe you Caleb but if Chase is trying to reunite the Underworld, he may be more than we can handle. My family has a tendency of dying when facing the Source of all evil. I-" Mel broke off and turned sharply. "Down!" she yelled and was hit by an energy ball. The warlock who had spoken had kicked one of the crystals, breaking the circle. "Wyatt!" she yelled out. "Wyatt, Chris, we need you!"

No orbs came and the five teens ran out of the attic. Racing down the stairs, Caleb mind spoke with his brothers. _"I'm going to Use to vanquish him. Pogue, help me. Tyler, Reid get Melinda out of here. And whatever you do, Reid, do not Use! You can't risk it. On my count. One, two, three."_ Caleb and Pogue stopped on the stairs and their eyes bled black. Mel looked at them in alarm.

"What are you doing? You're not supposed to Use!" Reid and Tyler grabbed a hold of her and continued down the stairs.

"Caleb knows what he's doing," Tyler said. "And Pogue's backing him."

The two older Sons sent energy waves out to the warlocks, weakening them. While Pogue kept the energy going into them, Caleb sent watery looking energy balls into the chest of each warlock. They exploded on contact and the Sons released the Power. "You okay, Pogue?"

"Yeah, you?'

"Yeah, but we shouldn't Use for awhile, just in case." They walked into the living room and met up with their brothers and Mel. Mel and Tyler were sitting on the couch, Tyler examining her shoulder where the energy ball had hit her. Reid was standing at the window, watching them. He looked at his brothers when they came in. "Everything finished?"

Caleb and Pogue nodded. "Yeah, they're gone."

Mel winced when Tyler touched the wound. "You really shouldn't have Used. You guys said last night you're close to addiction and even though we just met, I don't want to see you guys get hurt."

Before she could rant more, Tyler interrupted her. "This burn looks pretty bad. Should you go to the hospital?"

Mel craned her neck to look at it. "No, it looks worse than it actually is. I should probably put some salve on it though. Umm…there should be some in the bathroom." She went to stand up but Tyler held her down.

"No, one of the guys can go get it." He sent a look to Caleb and Pogue.

Pogue caught on first. "Yeah, I'll go get it." He nudged Caleb, who got what he was saying.

"And me and Reid can put the towels away and then we can start cleaning the mess we made in the kitchen"

"I think putting towels away can be handled by one person Caleb and I don't really feel like cleaning," Reid walked lazily over to the chair by the couch and sat down.

"Just come on." Caleb shoved some towels into Reid's arms and the three of them left the living room. Once they reached the bathroom, they decided to hang out in there for awhile before going to the kitchen to give Tyler and Melinda some privacy. Well, Caleb and Pogue decided and stopped Reid from leaving.

Mel and Tyler sat in silence for a bit and then Mel broke it. "That was kind of obvious."

"My brothers aren't really ones for tact." He brushed a hand gently over the burn on her shoulder. "Are you sure this will be okay with just some salve on it?"

"Yeah, I'll get Wyatt to heal it when he gets here."

"Okay. Then I think there's something we were in the middle of before we got interrupted." Tyler cupped Mel's cheek in his hand and she willingly turned her face toward him. He brushed his lips over hers, gently. Shifting so she was facing him, Mel reached up and wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Mel felt him smiling slightly against her lips and she laughed. Pulling back a little bit, she grinned at him. Tyler ran his fingers over her cheek and leaned in again.

So absorbed were they in kissing each other, they didn't notice the blue white orbs materializing in front of them. Mel could hear someone clearing their throat and she pulled back again. "Oh, Aunt Paige, you scared me. I thought you were Wyatt."

Paige smiled at her niece. "Lucky for you, I'm not either of your brothers. They heard you calling but they were busy with their charge. So they asked if I could help. But I'm kinda thinking you don't really need any help if the lip action I saw is anything to go by." Paige raised her eyebrow at the two teens in front of her.

Tyler blushed and Mel shrugged her shoulders. "Actually, we did need help but Caleb and Pogue ended up taking care of it. There were two warlocks, badly attempting to kill us. But they worked through my freezes and I couldn't find the vanquishing spell in the book. That's why I called for Wyatt or Chris."

"So, you're all okay then." Mel nodded.

"Actually, no," Tyler said. "Mel's hurt. She got hit with a…well I'm not really sure what it was."

"Energy ball," Mel said. "He must have stolen it from a whitelighter or something. It was hard to tell. Anyway, it's not a bad burn but I'd rather not wait for it to heal on its own because it is kinda painful. Do you think you could heal it?"

"Sure, sweetie. Besides, your mom would probably blow me up if I left her baby girl in pain." Mel made a face at her aunt and then leaned over so her shoulder was closer to Paige. Putting her hand over the burn, Paige summoned her healing power and a gold light came out of her hand and washed over Mel's shoulder. Tyler watched the wound disappear from her shoulder in astonishment. _**That's a pretty neat power**_, he thought. _**And would have really helped after our ascensions.**_ "How's that?" Paige asked.

Mel rotated her shoulder, her hand still in Tyler's. "Yeah, that feels better. Thanks Aunt Paige." Mel stood up. "I guess I should go put on a shirt huh?" Mel grabbed the sweatshirt she had been wearing and lifted it so they could see the burn hole in the shoulder. She had taken it off, leaving her in a black tank top when Tyler was examining her shoulder. "Good thing I wasn't attached to this sweatshirt." Tyler let go of her hand and Mel walked over to the bathroom and told the other Sons they could come out now. As they came out, she ran up stairs to put on another shirt.

Paige motioned for the other Sons to join Tyler and her in the living room. "Actually, we were going to clean up the kitchen. There was an…accident earlier and we sort of flooded it."

"That can wait. Just don't tell Piper I said that, otherwise she might vanquish me, sister or not. I'd like to talk about something with Tyler and want you guys here too. So, you guys met your first demons, in this case warlocks. What did you think?"

Caleb spoke up first. "I can't really speak for my brothers, but honestly, I was a little scared. With Chase, we knew what we were facing. We have the same powers, even if he is stronger. But this…We didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure that we would be able to vanquish them, using our Powers. It's good to know that we can."

"The warlocks knew who we were," Reid said. He brushed his gloved hand through his hair. "And they said Chase was trying to become the Source. Did you and your sisters know this was happening?"

Paige let out a breath. "Don't worry about being scared. The first couple of months I found out I was a witch I had no idea what I was doing. And I messed up. A lot. It'll happen but you'll learn. My sisters and I and even our children will help teach you and we will do the best we can to fix your addictions. As for knowing about Chase Collins trying to become the Source, yes we knew. The Elders told us before you came here. We wanted to keep it from you until we know for sure. We've dealt with the Source before though, so we will survive this. Satisfied?" The Sons nodded. It was reassuring to know that Paige had messed up and been scared when she first learned of this magical world. The Sons hadn't known anything about demons or warlocks before this.

"Now then, Tyler."

"Yes, Ms. Matthews?"

"Paige, please. You seem like a nice boy and Mel likes you. I'm sure you know her brothers are a little over-protective, especially when it comes to boys. They've scared off any guy that liked Mel. Don't let them do the same to you. Talk to them; show them that you really care for Mel and they'll support you. I'm sure too that they've given you this warning, but if you hurt her, well you'll be sorry."

Tyler smiled. "Thanks, Paige."

"You're welcome sweetie. And Reid?" The blonde Son looked at the youngest Charmed One. "Billie is a good friend of mine and I love her daughter like my own. She also happens to be a charge of mine too. Don't hurt her." Paige rolled her eyes. "Also, don't let her hurt you."

Reid scoffed. Like any girl could get close enough to hurt him. Paige smiled; she could tell he was thinking he could never be hurt by a girl. _**You'll learn,**_ she thought. "Okay, let's go see what you guys did to Piper's domain." Getting up, the Sons followed Paige to the kitchen. She looked around the room and then glanced at the Sons. "I'm telling Piper you're not allowed to do the laundry anymore. Well, I don't feel like cleaning this the long way, so we'll take a short cut. Pay attention, this spell is pretty handy and I see no reason why you four shouldn't be able to cast spells. Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the seen to be unseen."

The boys looked in amazement as the kitchen returned to its former clean state. "That's a pretty cool spell," Reid said.

"You'll be amazed by what magic can do. Just be careful of personal gain spells and the consequences."

"Like that didn't have personal gain written all over it, Aunt Paige," Mel said as she walked into the kitchen. She had a light blue shirt on now that said Bewitching and was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Hey, I and the boys stay alive and Piper doesn't have a heart attack from the state of her kitchen." Mel laughed. "Mel, what don't you show the boys some more harmless spells? I already showed them the vanishing spell. Maybe you could summon Grams or Prue."

"Follow me boys. Back to the attic." They followed Mel out of kitchen, Tyler stopping for a second as Paige put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Remember, just talk to Wyatt and Chris about Mel." Tyler nodded and left the kitchen, following his friends up the stairs. Paige smirked. "This is going to be interesting." She orbed out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't anything you might recognize. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, looked at my story, or added it to their favorite story list. It's nice to know that at least some people are liking my story. Review if you want but it's not necessary.**

Chapter 5: Advice from Grams

Wyatt and Chris orbed into the attic to find Mel, Tyler, Pogue, Reid, and Caleb talking to Grams. She had stepped out of the crystal circle to become solid for a brief amount of time. "Grams!" Wyatt hugged Grams and then released her.

"You too young man," she enveloped Chris in her arms and he chuckled.

"Hey, Grams. How's the afterlife?"

"I wouldn't know. This family summons me so often I don't have a chance to live it! Your Aunt Prue and Grandma say hi, by the way. Melinda here has just filled me in on what's going on. Not that I didn't know already, but it is nice to be filled in by family."

Reid shook his head at his brothers. "This is so freaking weird. I mean, we're talking to a fucking ghost!" All of a sudden Reid clapped a hand to his head. "Hey! Something just pulled on my ear!"

"Watch your language, boy."

Mel looked at Reid. "Don't swear around Grams or she'll yank on your ear, even if you're not related to her. She still does it to my Mom."

"Grams, not that we're not glad to see you, but why are you here?" Chris asked.

"Uh, hello Chris? I summoned her." Mel pointed out.

"No duh, Sherlock. I asked why, not how."

"Christopher Perry Halliwell, be nice to your sister. I swear you two fight like Phoebe and Prue did when they were children."

Mel smirked at her brother and he stuck his tongue out at her. "Very mature. Glad to know my 21 year old brother's only comeback is to stick out his tongue at me. Aunt Paige asked me to show the guys some spells so I showed them how to summon a ghost."

Grams waved her hand around in a very regal way. "I so love being talked about as if I weren't here."

"Sorry, Grams. Speaking of Aunt Paige, did everything go okay this afternoon?" Chris asked of Mel.

"Yeah, it was a couple of warlocks. Caleb and Pogue actually vanquished them."

"You know, I don't believe these boys are evil."

"I never said that Grams."

"You didn't let me finish Melinda. I don't believe these boys are evil but the Powers they do have might come from evil."

"What do you mean?" Pogue asked.

"Well, you said that when you Use your eyes turn black. Black eyes usually indicate something evil." Grams looked deep in thought.

"What are you thinking Grams?" Mel asked, flicking a piece of her hair out of her eyes. She thought to herself that she needed to get a haircut soon; her bangs were getting too long and were constantly in her eyes.

"I think you should go to the past. Back to the Salem Witch Trials. Perhaps your ancestors know how the Power came to be."

"It would have been recorded in the Book of Damnation if they knew," Tyler said.

"You don't really think that everything your ancestors knew was put in that book, do you? Some things have to be found out for yourselves, a lesson my girls have learned very well."

"That sounds like a good idea, Grams, but I don't think they should go by themselves," Wyatt said.

"Nor do I, Wyatt. That's why Melinda should go."

"Why our baby sister? Why not Wy or me?" Chris demanded of Grams. He did not like the idea of sending his baby sister to the past without any offensive powers. Yes, her freezing power was powerful but until she was able to blow evil up, she was pretty much defenseless with out either him or Wyatt. Looking at his older brother and sensing the tension radiating out of him, Chris could tell Wyatt didn't like the idea any more than he did.

"Because our ancestor during the Trials was Melinda Warren, the namesake of our Melinda. And, daughter to mother is a stronger bond for this spell than son to mother. Also, there could be a chance that they inhabit their ancestors' bodies, instead of just watching. You know as well as I do that time travel is tricky and you never know exactly how you will be involved. So, it would be better if Melinda went.

"She's right, Chris," Mel pointed out. "We'll be fine. We've never had a problem with time travel before and we won't have one now. But what spell should we use?"

"Well, your best bet would be the To Go Back in Time spell. Just put it in the plural and it should work for you five to go back. And, if it's like Mom and the aunts told us with an alternate Chris coming back to save me from turning evil, you should be physically in the past, not inhabiting another's body. That way you should have your powers. The spell would be strengthened if each of you has something that belonged to your ancestor. Blood to blood is really strong but if there is another bond there it would be even better" Wyatt told her.

"Alternate Chris? Evil Wyatt?" Pogue wondered.

"It's a long story," Wyatt said. Personally, he didn't like thinking of an alternate reality where he was evil and had to be saved by his younger brother.

Mel broke in. "Not if you can talk quickly. Basically put, Wyatt was turned evil as a child. Chris went to the past and acted as the Charmed Ones whitelighter to try and save Wyatt. Obviously he succeeded because our Wyatt isn't evil. But the Chris who went back was from a parallel world because our Chris never went back."

"That's…confusing," Pogue said in return.

"Time travel can get very complicated and, for as much as we do it, most of the Halliwells don't really seem to understand it."

"Speak for yourself, Mel. I understand it for the most part." Mel opened her mouth again, probably to continue this fight when Wyatt broke in.

"Ding ding, back to your corners, siblings of mine. Do any of you have a token of your ancestors that you can take with you? Besides the book?"

"Well for our eighteenth birthday, our parents gave us each a necklace with our family symbol on it. It's recorded in the book that our ancestors wore something similar," Caleb said.

"That would work. Mel?"

"I can use Melinda Warren's locket. Remember when Mom, Aunt Prue, and Aunt Phoebe summoned her from the past? She was wearing that locket. It went back with her but me and Mom found it in one of those chests a couple of years ago. And I don't think we're going to have to put the spell in the plural. It should still work."

"Alright then. We'll need to draw a triquetra for you to step through. Mel, you and the boys will incant the spell and then focus on the time you want to go to," Grams said. "Why don't you five go and get your tokens and Wyatt and Chris, you two draw the triquetra."

The Sons and Mel left the attic to get their necklaces. Wyatt passed Chris some chalk and they sketched a triquetra on the wall next to the Book of Shadows with Grams critiquing their drawing. A couple of minutes passed and the five teenagers walked in, each wearing a necklace now. Mel had the locket while each Son wore a silver chain with a small replica of their family symbol hanging from it.

"Mel, you know how this spell will work. Caleb, you and your friends will need to say the spell with Mel and then step through the passage that will form. While in the passage, focus on the time you want to go to and the people you want to see. I don't really know if that impacts the spell any but it can't hurt," Wyatt filled the Sons in on the spell.

"How are we supposed to get back?" Caleb asked. Chris started on a long explanation of how they should be able to get back when they learned what they needed to. His explanation just confused the boys so Wyatt broke in.

"You'll either come back automatically when you learn what it is you're supposed to or you'll be able to use this spell to send you forward in time or Melinda Warren will help you write a return spell. You'll get back no matter what, though. Even if we have to come back to get you."

"Well that's comforting," Reid said sarcastically.

"Okay, enough exposition. Let's go!" Mel said excitedly. It wasn't often she got to do something magical on her own and she was pleased for the chance. She also really wanted to meet Melinda Warren, the head of their magical line. "Okay guys. Come here so we can read the spell together." Tyler stood next to her, a fact Wyatt and Chris both noticed. Then, Caleb, Pogue, and Reid crowded around them.

Reading together, the Sons cast their first spell. "Hear these words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within my mind. Send me back to where I'll find what I wish in place and time." The triquetra glowed blue and Mel took a step toward it.

"Good luck my dears," Grams told them.

"Be careful, Mel," Wyatt told her.

"Watch out for each other," Chris told all of them.

Mel turned around to face the Sons. Holding out her hand to Tyler, she asked him "Trust me?"

He took a hold of her outstretched hand. "Yeah." Walking together, they reached the Charmed symbol on the wall and stepped into the passage. Sticking her head back out, Mel said "Be back for dinner. Coming guys? Or are me and Tyler doing this ourselves?" She pulled her head back in.

Reid laughed and ran through the symbol, Caleb and Pogue following at a slower pace. Once they all had left and the symbol was once again only a chalk outline, Wyatt and Chris looked at each other. "We're going to have to talk to Tyler, aren't we?" Wyatt remarked.

"Yeah, he better not be making a move on our little sister."

"Now boys, Melinda is almost a grownup and very mature for her age. She is allowed to have a boyfriend. Her parents allow her to date, so why shouldn't her brothers?"

"Grams, we just want to make sure Mel is with a good guy. So far, none of the boys she has dated have been good enough for her." Chris said.

"I think Tyler might just surprise you. Well, I'm going to hang around for awhile. Let's go talk to Piper and that mortal husband of hers."

"Grams."

"Oh, you know I love your father, Wyatt." The three left the attic, Grams complaining that she hadn't raised her girls right because both Piper and Phoebe married magical creatures. Wyatt tried to point out that Leo was mortal now and had been for many years but Grams wasn't listening. Chris decided not to get into the middle of them arguing. He had learned long ago not to talk back to Grams; there could be painful consequences of doing so.


	6. Chapter 6

**I wish I actually owned it because then I wouldn't need to work. Anyhow, don't own it and review if you want. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or looked at it; I like knowing that at least a few people at least somewhat like what I write. Why else would you read it? If anyone was curious, I think this story is about half done. I'm currently finishing up chapter 8 and if I follow my plan, there should be about 4 more chapters after that. I'm kind of losing interest but I will finish. I swear!! And I'll try to write so that it doesn't seem like I'm trying to finish it as quickly as possible. Like usual, I'll try to update as fast as possible but I like to update when I'm two chapters ahead and they're coming slower because I'm back in school and working. Also, my chapters so far have been around 4 pages typed and this one is like 12 or something so the chapters are getting longer. Now, on to the story, which is what you actually want!**

Chapter 6: The Power Revealed

Mel, Tyler, Reid, Caleb, and Pogue spilled out of the time passage into a small wooden cabin. The light pouring in through the small windows was dim, like it was close to twilight. A young girl stared at them wide eyed and started to scream. Mel rushed over to her and tried to calm her down. "Shh, shh, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you. We're friends. It's alright, it's okay, sweetie." The young girl, Mel estimated her at about four years old, swallowed her tears, calmed by Mel's soothing voice. She smiled at the little blond girl. "There you go. See, it's okay. Is this your dolly?" The girl nodded and held the cloth doll up for Mel's inspection. Mel held it gently and said, "It's a very pretty dolly." She handed it back to the young girl who held it close to her chest.

Mel stood back up and went over to where the Sons were still standing. Slipping a hand in Tyler's, she looked around the cabin. There was one bed made up neatly with a bright red quilt over it. Mel figured there was probably a trundle bed or something under it for the girl. There was a door that looked like it led to a small room. She thought it might be this century's version of a bathroom. Tyler squeezed her hand. "Are we in the right place? The right time?"

"Yeah, I think so. Look, laurel leaves, lavender, rosemary, sage, and thyme. There's a lot of other stuff too."

Reid pointed out what he felt was the flaw in Mel's reasoning. "All of that stuff you just said are pretty common items."

"With magical properties. Plus, there's just this sort of feeling in the air. This is the right place." Mel knelt next to the girl who was playing with her doll, making it skip around on the floor. "Sweetie, can you tell me your name?"

"I'm Laura Warren and I'm this many years old," she said, flashing five fingers. "Who are you?"

"I'm Melinda Halliwell and these are my friends. And I'm this many years old," Mel said putting up ten fingers then another seven.

"Gosh, you're old."

Mel stood up. "Well that's something every girl loves to hear."

"Your name is Melinda too?" the little girl asked."That's my mommy's name!"

Tyler shot a look at his blonde friend and shrugged. "She said we were in the right place." He went to kneel next to Melinda by the little girl but another door swung open, interrupting him.

A blonde woman was in the doorway, wearing an old fashioned dress, the kind Melinda had only seen before when reading about the Salem Witch Trials and that time era. She carried more herbs in her arms and around her neck was a newer looking version of the same locket Mel was wearing. "Can I help you?" she asked, putting down the herbs on a nearby table.

"Umm, I'm Melinda. Melinda Halliwell?" Mel knew the name Halliwell might be familiar to her. It just depended on if she and the Sons had arrived after the time Melinda Warren had gone to the future to help the Charmed Ones trap Matthew Tate a second time. It would actually have to be before Melinda Warren went to the future because otherwise she would be dead right now. Shortly after trapping the warlock the first time Melinda had been burned at the stake but sometimes time travelers retained their memories. Melinda was hoping that her namesake had memories from visiting the future, even though it hadn't really happened yet. Like they said, time travel was incredibly confusing.

"Halliwell. Yes, I know that name. Piper?"

"Is my mother. Well, I'm glad you remember helping my mother and aunts out because at least you know of us."

"You wear my locket too." Both reached for their respective lockets at the same time with their right hands. "Well, my locket from your time period. Has Matthew Tate been released again?"

"Well, technically he hasn't been released at all in this time period because you haven't even trapped him the first time yet, but no. I'm actually here for an entirely different reason."

Pogue muttered something that sounded vaguely like time travel is so confusing. Melinda Warren turned and scrutinized him and the three other boys standing by him. Seemingly satisfied with whatever she seemed to see in them, she turned her attention back to the young girl who shared her name and smiled. "You share my name too, although we have different last names. I am Melinda Warren. If it is not to capture Tate again, why then are you here? What can I help do to help you, my daughter?" Her eyes clouded over with a glazed look and she seemed to be looking at something that wasn't there. "Or, perhaps I'm not the only one you came back to see? You wish to speak to five others; their forefathers and the missing Son's forefather," she said motioning to the Sons. "You search for the truth of your power, do you not?"

The Sons looked at each other, not really sure what to say. Pogue nudged Caleb forward, indicating Caleb should speak. He was, after all, the oldest besides Chase. "Yes. We do want to know where our Power came from. And if there is any way to break the curse and stop us from aging."

"I will summon your fathers; we are friends, of sorts. I shall also tell them to bring spare clothes for you to change into. You will not blend in with the strange clothes you are wearing. And this is not the time where it is alright for one to stand out; to be different is to be labeled a madman or worse. My daughter, you may wear one of my spare dresses." She went to a chest and pulled out a folded dress. Mel took it. "There is a lavatory of sorts behind that door. You can change there and we can keep your clothes in this chest for when you are ready to go back to your own time."

Mel grimaced. "Goody, a dress." She took the dress into the room behind the door and was in there for a few minutes before she came back out. The dress was an off-white color with blue trimmings and was lower cut than Mel was used to although it wasn't immodest. Mel put her clothes in the trunk and turned back toward the table the Sons were sitting at. Smoothing her hands down the front, Mel sat down in a vacant chair. "You guys get to stay in pants, why do I have to wear a dress? This is so unfair. Go ahead; laugh. I know I must look ridiculous."

"Actually, Mel, you look…nice," Tyler finished a little lamely.

"Uh, huh," Mel said doubtfully. "Late 1600 fashions aside, what's going on? Where did Melinda go?"

"She's getting our ancestors and took her daughter with her," Pogue said. "She said she'd be back in a few minutes and to make ourselves at home."

Caleb gestured to the table they were sitting around. "She gave us plenty of food, so dig in."

Mel scrunched her nose. "Not really hungry right now. Even seeing all this and talking to Melinda Warren, it's still hard for me to believe that we're in the past. My brothers have both traveled but this is my first time and I have to say, it's pretty cool. Well, except for the clothes."

"A virgin, huh?" Reid smirked. He shot a mock leer at Tyler and Mel. Since she was next to him, Mel smacked him on the arm. Pretending it hurt a lot more than it actually did, Reid rubbed the spot she had it. "I was talking about time travel," he said while pouting.

"Yeah, right," Mel said. "And I'm the queen of England." The five teenagers laughed at their conversation. A few more minutes had passed when the door swung open. Figures were outlined in the sunlight, one small figure belonging to Laura, another to Melinda's slender frame, and four tall figures towering over Melinda's. The five teenagers stood up. Laura broke free of her mother's hand and plopped down by one of the walls to play with her doll again.

"Here they are. The children of our lines, needing our help," Melinda told the four figures standing behind her. The four men walked into the cabin and the available space seemed to shrink. The boys nudged each other; they could easily tell which man was their specific ancestor because the four men looked eerily similar to their descendants.

"There are only four of you," the man who looked like Reid stated.

Caleb countered with, "There's only four of you."

"Circumstances have…changed. Are you the eldest?" the blonde man asked.

"Of us four. Are you?"

"Yes."

"Alright, Garwin. Let's stop acting like this is the most serious situation we've ever encountered. It is alright to have fun once in awhile. It won't kill you."

Caleb noted in some surprise that the one who just talked looked like him. He was expecting that he and his ancestor would be similar in personalities. It's not that Caleb didn't know how to have fun; he just knew that there was a time and a place and that this probably wasn't the best time to be goofing off. _**I guess, in this generation, Reid and I switched positions. Garwin is the leader while Danvers seems to be the goof-off. That's odd**_, he thought to himself.

"William, John has the same attitude as you do and it eventually flooded over to his usage of Power."

Mel addressed Reid's ancestor. "You know, maybe as the leader of your generation, you should introduce everyone. William is easy enough to understand; he looks exactly like Caleb. I'm assuming you're Reid's ancestor," and Mel gestured to the other two men in turn, "and you must be Tyler's ancestor and you, Pogue's. But who the hell is John? Or your names? You're being kind of rude."

"Mel, you really shouldn't talk to them like that."

"Oh, who cares Tyler? My ancestor introduced herself; yours should have the decency to do the same."

"She really is your descendant, Melinda. She has the same habit of speaking out of turn and when it is better for one to keep silent."

Mel didn't normally get this mad. But this man, Reid's ancestor, was irritating the hell out of her. She didn't care what century it was; manners are manners and this man wasn't showing them. Her parents had raised her and her brothers to be polite and this Garwin was not polite. "Yeah, well I come from the 21st century, where women are EQUAL in power," she said, emphasizing the equal. "I'll speak when I want to and I will call some one out when I think they are being rude. I'll ask again, who are you? I'm Melinda Halliwell." She gave a small, tight smile. "See how that works?"

"Call some one out? Whatever that means, I suppose you are right. I am James Garwin. This is William Danvers, Anthony Simms, and Andrew Parry. John Putnam is our missing brother, the ancestor of your missing brother."

"Chase has never been our brother; he's tried to kill us since the first time we met him. Every time one of us ascended, Chase tried to get us to will him our powers. We barely survived him. If it comes down to another fight, I'm afraid that we will become addicted to the Power while fighting him. We're already dangerously close," Caleb said.

"There's another problem caused by Chase Collins, one that could directly affect the Warren line and the magical community as we know it. My mom and aunts believe that Chase is attempting to reunite the Underworld and become the new Source." Mel looked at Melinda. "The Elders are also worried about this."

Melinda's face had paled. Yes, she knew all about the Source. She had seen the demon in her visions and she had seen the Charmed Ones facing him and dying, too often for her liking. "Melinda, are you alright?" asked Anthony. He reached out for her but she held up her hand to stall him.

"I'll be fine. It's just that I know this evil and if what Mel says is true, the future of magic could be in trouble. If the Charmed Ones and the Elders are worried, we should be also." She sent a small smile in Anthony's direction, trying to reassure him that she would be, in fact, okay.

"Our brother John has recently changed," said Andrew. He brushed his long hair out of his eyes, an action that Caleb, Tyler, and Reid had seen Pogue do many times. "He has been abusing the Power and he has risked exposing us and Melinda. The witch," he used the term affectionately, looking at Melinda Warren, "has told us the future. We decided we can not change what is to be; Putnam will betray us, we will banish him, and his sons will continue to hate and fear the Power."

"Fear?" asked Tyler.

This time it was Caleb's ancestor who answered. He nodded. "Yes, fear. He fears, as he desires the Power. He fears us because we four could defeat him, if we needed to. As you four can do with Chase Collins. After all, he should be getting older from Using too much."

"That's the thing," Mel said. "He somehow lifted the curse from himself and he doesn't age anymore from Using. Do you know any way he could have done it?" Mel asked of Melinda.

"No, but it would probably have to have been some type of black magic. A potion of some sort, perhaps. We can research it together while the Sons learn about the Power from their ancestors."

"First things first, however," James said. "You boys should change. I'm sure Melinda has told you that it is wise to fit in. We will tell people that you four are nephews of ours. Mel, you could either be a niece of one of us or stay with Melinda."

"I'll stay with Melinda. I think I can learn a lot and it will be easier to research how Chase broke the curse if we stay together." The boys took turns to changing in the bathroom. Since they had refrained from laughing at her in the dress, she held in her laughter after seeing them in their goofy clothes. Tyler shot a look at her like he knew what she was doing.

"We should go. It's getting dark and it wouldn't do for four married men to be leaving the cabin belonging to a woman, even one as respected as Melinda, after dark," James said. The four men walked out, Tyler and his friends starting to follow him.

"You'll be okay, Mel?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I'm as safe here as if we were home. It's okay," she smiled at him and he gave her an answering smile.

"Wait a minute," Pogue said. "Before we left your attic, you said that we would be back for dinner. It's dark now; we left your home sometime in the afternoon. How exactly are we supposed to be back in time for dinner?"

"Time travel. So long as we concentrate on getting back to the time just after we left, we should be able to get there. In time for dinner."

Pogue thought about that and then shook his head. "I still don't get it." He walked out of the cabin, followed by his brothers. Mel gave a small laugh and shook her head. She turned to Melinda.

"It's good to see our future children," Melinda said. "Tomorrow, I will start teaching you magics that aren't common in your time. We will find a way to break the Sons' curse and a way to defeat this Chase Collins before he can become the Source."

* * *

The morning dawned bright and clear, the sunlight streaming in to wake Mel. She stirred in the makeshift bed Melinda had made for her the night before and sat up. She saw that the cabin was empty, Melinda's bed neatly made. Standing up, Mel smoothed some of the wrinkles out of the dress. Spotting some twine, Mel twisted her hair into a braid and tied it off. She stepped outside and followed the noises she was hearing to the back of the small house.

Melinda was weeding in her garden. "I guess people do get up really early in this time."

"Good morning, Mel. Yes, we do rise very early since there is so much for us to do. I thought we'd try to get all of the chores done in the morning that way we could spend most of the day figuring out how Chase broke the curse for himself. We will meet with the Sons later to discuss anything we've learned."

"Alright then, let's get to work. Wait…umm, where's Laura?"

"Oh, she's with the other children in the village at the church. She's learning about the Bible, and then I tell her stories about witchcraft. She hasn't been learning much since she is still very young, but I've been slowly teaching her." Mel nodded. It was sort of the same thing with her; she went to high school like any other teenager but she also went to Magic School, just like her brothers did and her cousins were doing.

The two relatives weeded together for a good part of the morning. Mel learned that Melinda was going to move from Ipswich to Salem within a couple of years. She was struck by the elder witch's determination to allow the future to stay on course. Mel asked Melinda why she would move to Salem when she knew she was going to die in the Witch Trials. Melinda thought about it for a little bit.

"No, I don't wish to die. But if I don't fulfill my destiny, then our line will never continue to increase in power and the Charmed Ones won't be born. Which means you wouldn't have been born. Then, your friends wouldn't have the chance to win against Chase Collins. If I don't die, the world will never know the good magic your family and the Sons will do. And I won't let the future miss out on that. That is why I will move to Salem and not fight my death. I could easily escape, if I wished. But I will let them label me as a witch for that is who I am and I am so proud of it. The only thing I am concerned about is that Laura is taken care of after my death. I pray every night to any deity that exists that some good soul will take my daughter in and raise her as their own."

"You're braver than I am. I don't know if I would be able to make that move, even if I know it is the right thing to do."

"I have every faith that you would. It's another Warren trait. The magic, the great cheekbones, and the determination to do what is right for the greater good."

"Even if doing that screws us over. And don't forget two more traits we have: the rotten luck we have with men and losing our mothers at an early age."

"You didn't lose your mother. Nor have your cousins."

"No, I guess not. Okay, so just the rotten luck we have with men."

Melinda smiled. "Maybe we do have rotten luck with men. But once we find the one we're supposed to be with, our soul mate, we will do anything to stay with them. They, in turn, will move heaven and earth to stay with us. It's the best type of love one could help for."

"You're telling me. Mom and Dad went through so much in order to be together. Then, Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry fought constantly at the beginning of their marriage. Finally, Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Coop who, at first, thought they were forbidden to be together but finally made it." There was silence for a moment or so while they continued pulling weeds. Mel spoke up again. "Have you found your soul mate? Was it Laura's father?"

"I loved Laura's father dearly. I thought he was the one I was meant to be with. Everything was perfect with him."

"But?"

"After his death, I moved Laura and myself here." Melinda's eyes got a far away look in them and Mel could tell she was getting lost in her memories. "There was another man. He was good and kind. Intelligent, handsome; he made me feel very safe with him and he was so good to Laura. We fell quickly in love. But he was betrothed to another and couldn't let his family down. He had-has-an obligation to his Power, just as I have to my magic."

Mel thought about it. She reviewed the actions she had seen last night between Melinda and the Sons' ancestors and one man stood out to her. Someone who was more attentive to Melinda; who could tell she was worried about something without asking. "You're in love with Anthony Simms. History does repeat itself," Melinda mused.

"You are in love with the youngest? Tyler?"

"No, at least not yet. I've only known him for a little over a day and this is not going to be a Romeo and Juliet thing where they fall in love with each other in like an hour." At Melinda's look of confusion, Mel said "Never mind. But, for only knowing him a day, I'm surprised at how much I do like him already. I'm pretty sure he's one guy I won't let my brothers run off without fighting with them. And I've become friends with his brothers too." Mel fell silent and Melinda let her think.

They finished weeding and doing other small chores in the afternoon and went back into the cabin. Melinda reached into the exposed rafters and brought down her Book of Shadows. She handed it to Mel and the younger girl took it. "As I understand it, your version of the book is much bigger but I think we can find an answer to our question in here. If you flip toward the back, there is a section on curses. I haven't come across anything like what we are dealing with now but maybe there will be something similar."

"I was thinking about that. What if he somehow got a hold of whitelighter blood? They can heal others and their power is in their blood."

"I suppose that could work. He'd have to be drinking the blood often though, I would think."

"Eww. It's like he's becoming a vampire." Mel, who had been flipping through the Book, stopped on a page. "What's this?" She showed Melinda the page.

Reading out loud, Melinda said, "To slow aging. Crush herbs that promote longevity and protection. Mix in with the blood of an angel and powerful good witch. Let it be blessed by a high priestess. The more powerful the angel, witch, and high priestess, the less often one must take the potion. This will not stop normal aging but increase youthfulness."

"That sounds like it would be for a normal person, except that it requires the blood of an angel and witch. Obviously, not everyone can get that. But it doesn't seem like it would help out Chase. His Power is his life-force; that's why the Sons age when they Use. They're using their life-force. Wouldn't he need something more permanent?"

"Well, perhaps he's mixing something else in the potion. But I feel this might be the answer. Let's see, what else could he be adding? Maybe the powder of a stone. Stones are a part of the earth and are permanent in a way plants and people aren't. Here, let me see the Book." Mel handed the Book back to Melinda and she flipped through some more pages. "I have a list of stones and their properties in here. Hmmm… ah! Red coral is good for increasing longevity. If you ground some of it, that should do the trick or one could wear it. He's probably doing both. I have here that it is uncommon now but perhaps that has changed in your time. Will you let the boys in please?"

"What?" Mel asked. Someone knocked on the door to the cabin. "Oh." She walked to the door and opened it. Tyler and his friends were standing outside the door. "Hey, so what did you guys do today?"

"A lot actually," Tyler said. But we're not really here for that. Reid's "uncle" is having a dinner party. And, as he put it, you are cordially invited to attend a dinner at the Garwin home this eve at five o'clock. That's exactly how he worded it."

"Well, we'll be there. Fill you in on the details later, but I think we found out how Chase stopped aging. It's extremely gross and I'm sure painful for the victims, but it would stop his aging, if he's doing what we think he is."

Reid broke in. "Would love to stay and chat but we have more chores we have to do. So, we'll see you tonight at dinner."

Mel laughed. "Sorry, wish I could help."

"It's okay. It's hard work anyway. Not suitable for girls. Or Baby Boy."

Caleb was the one who hit Reid this time. "Stop complaining."

"I should probably go tell Melinda about dinner. Takes a lot longer to get ready here than it does at home and she'll probably want to bring something to dinner. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mel," Tyler said. The boys left and Mel went back in the house to let Melinda know. As she thought, Melinda wanted to take something so she threw an apple pie together as quick as she could, aided with magic.

* * *

"This is the Garwin house? It's huge!" Mel exclaimed.

"The Garwins, Putnams, Parrys, Danvers, and Simms are the richest families in the Massachusetts area." Melinda knocked on the front door. "As often as Mr. Garwin has invited Laura over here with me, I fear to bring her. I would hate it if she were to break something which is why I leave her with Goody Thomson, in exchange for doing chores around her house. The door swung open, revealing the Garwin house-servant.

"Hello Misses Warren and Halliwell. Come right in. Master Garwin has been expecting you. I'll take your things. This way, if you could follow me please." Melinda and Mel followed the woman into a sitting room. The Sons all stood up when they entered and Mel and Melinda moved to one side as the elder Sons' wives entered after them. Everyone settled down after introductions were made. The adults chatted about nothing as Mel and the Sons sat in uncomfortable silence next to each other.

"I think the children may be more comfortable in another room where they can talk freely amongst themselves," said Andrew, Pogue's ancestor.

"Reid, you and your friends may go into the back sitting room. We will call you when dinner is ready," said Mrs. Garwin. The teenagers stood up and nodded to the adults. Reid led them out of the room and through the house to another room in the back that wasn't as nicely furnished as the other one but was still fancier than anything in the Halliwell Manor. They all sat down; Pogue and Caleb sitting in chairs, Mel, Tyler, and Reid sitting on the same couch, Mel sitting between the two boys.

"Well that was comfortable," commented Caleb.

"Note the heavy sarcasm," Mel shot back. Caleb grinned at her. "So, boys and, well boys," Mel said in her best teacher voice, "what did you learn today?" Then, in her normal voice, "Anything about your powers?"

The Sons nodded. "They taught us some more techniques to help with the urge to Use and some herbs we can make into tea that might help too. They didn't really say anything about where the Power originated, though," said Caleb. "What about you?"

"Melinda taught me the use of herbs I didn't know about and we looked in her Book of Shadows. There's a potion in there that can be used to increase longevity; we think Chase might be doing a variation of the potion that could affect your aging. Maybe even stop you from aging when you Use. You crush herbs meant to increase youthfulness, mix equal parts of blood from an angel and a powerful good witch, and then have it blessed by a high priestess. We think that Chase is putting red coral dust in it too and maybe wearing some because that also can affect aging. Which, if it works, we can actually do for you guys too."

"Okay, I get the blood of a witch and I'm sure you could find a high priestess somewhere, but where the heck can someone get angel blood? Angels don't exist," Reid said.

Mel looked at him confusion. "Uh, hello? Whitelighters, aka guardian ANGELS, aka Wyatt, Chris, and my Aunt Paige, not to mention Elder Almira and any of the other numerous whitelighters and Elders. Not to mention the guardian angels each person has, but I don't think it's them because it's incredibly hard to see them. The blood from any of those people would work but Wyatt would probably be best. He's twice blessed, after all."

As Caleb was about to ask what "twice blessed" meant and Tyler was going to ask about what herbs they would use for that potion, they were called to dinner. They went into the dining room and were motioned to sit down. They feasted on venison, potatoes, different types of vegetables, and then had dessert. Because of all the different courses, their dinner party took about two hours, during which the adults talked about village news while the teenagers had their own conversation about their time era, getting to know each other better.

They finished dinner and James Garwin stood up, his brothers coming to stand around him. "Now that we are done eating, we shall go to the Danver's colony house, where we keep the Book of Damnation." Leaving the elder sons' wives behind because they weren't interested in witchcraft, the ones with supernatural powers left the Garwin house. Taking the horse and carriage that James had, they went to Caleb's ancestral home.

Mel leaned over to Tyler on the way to the Danver's colony house. "If James Garwin is the eldest in this time era, then why is the altar built in the Danver's house?"

Pogue's ancestor answered. "William's house was really the only one suitable for a place where we could meet to discuss our Powers and keep the Book hidden from those who don't know about it."

"We're here." James stopped the horse. He and Anthony jumped down, William behind him to take care of the horse. Andrew helped Melinda down and led her into the house. Tyler stopped Melinda from jumping down herself and helped her to the ground. Caleb, Pogue, and Reid got out and walked ahead of them. Walking next to Tyler, Mel bumped her shoulder into his. He laughed and grabbed her hand to stop her from doing it again.

"What's up?" he asked.

"The sky," she said lazily.

"No duh. Metaphorically, what's up?"

"Fine, if you want to be logical. Did you know that your ancestor and my ancestor were deeply in love?"

"Actually, yeah I did. Anthony was telling me. He also warned me about the dangers of falling in love with a witch. He told me that witches, good witches, are only dedicated to the greater good. They put love, family, friends, and basically having a life on the back burner to concentrate on their duties as witches."

"Well, Halliwells are all for the greater good but we also want a normal life and we will fight to the death to achieve it. Melinda told me too to be careful. Halliwells also tend to have their hearts broken tons of times. But…I told her not worry; we haven't even known each other for a week yet. It's not like we're already in love or anything.

Tyler forced a laugh. "Right. Because that would be insane. Who falls in love in just two, three days?"

"Crazy people, that's who." Tyler stopped her before they reached the house.

"I do care about you though. An insane amount considering how long we've known each other but I do like you."

"I like you too, Tyler. You know my brothers are probably going to kill you, right?"

"I'm not scared." He held her hands in his in between their bodies. Mel titled her head up and he bent down to kiss her when Reid cleared his throat.

"As cute as it is, you two declaring your love for each other, I'd like to get home sometime this century. So, if we could go inside?"

Mel pulled her hands out of Tyler's and walked up the steps past Reid. "Two words, Blondie. Angela," she said, holding up one finger. Putting up a second, "Jenkins." She walked into the house.

Faintly behind her, she could hear Pogue teasing Reid. "Awww. Reid and Angie, sitting in a tree… ow. Mel had heard a dull thudding sound and figured that Reid had just punched Pogue. "Oh, look. Reid's blushing!!"

"No, I'm not." Reid walked into the house after Mel and she turned to face him. Taking a look at his face, Mel said he was blushing. "Whatever," he said.

Mel threaded her arm through Reid's. "I know Angie. And as flaky as she might seem to be, I can tell when she likes someone. And she likes you."

"I'm Reid Garwin," he declared. "I don't do serious relationships. Let's just get back to our century, okay?" he said, including his brothers in the conversation. Reid broke free of Mel and walked down the nearby stairs. He knew his way around the colony house because that's where he and his brothers met too. Mel hung back and looked at the three other Sons, a look of concern on her face.

"I didn't mean to hurt to him."

Tyler shook his head. "He'll be fine. You say you know your friend; well I know mine. He's never liked a girl like this before. I don't know how strongly he feels about Angie yet but there is definite potential there and he's scared of it. Don't worry about it; he'll work it out for himself. Let's go." Mel, Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb walked down the stairs, following the path Reid, Andrew, and Melinda had taken. They sat in the circular room that was familiar to the Sons and were eventually joined by James, Anthony, and William.

James stood in the place where Caleb usually sat. "We have one last thing to share with you before you five leave; the origin of the Power."

The Sons sat up a little straighter. Melinda motioned to Mel and they got up and stood to one side. Caleb and his friends sat next to each of their ancestors, leaving one stone seat empty. James motioned for Melinda and Mel to take that one. His eyes bled black and the Book of Damnation floated in to the middle of the circle.

"There is a page that explains the origin of the Power. No generations will see it after us because we have already decided to tear it out after the betrayal. There is a power in this world that can be accessed by good or evil. One can absorb this power and it will increase one's power."

"That sounds like The Hollow. My family has dealt with it before but The Hollow will eventually consume anyone who tries to use it, good or evil," Mel said.

"Is that what you call it? Well, when The Hollow was very first formed, part of the shadow broke free and entered five mortal men. Using magics that are long lost that we don't even know about it, those five men were able to "tame" the magic and keep it within themselves. They discovered when their sons reached the age of thirteen, they received part of the power and fully ascended at eighteen, when they came of age. Eighteen is the age when those five men first received the Power which is why all future sons ascend at that age."

James finished speaking and Anthony, the second eldest, continued the story. "That is the power we use. But there had to be a price for mastering and keeping this Power. In return, the shadow's power became entwined with our life-forces. That is why we age as we use; for using something that we only got through trickery we must give up part of our lives."

William continued, "According to the Book, there is no real way to break the curse and to keep our Powers."

"But," said Andrew, "we believe that if all sons were to relinquish their powers they wouldn't age and their children would not receive the powers. However, none of us has been willing to try that so we don't know if it's true. We're not even sure if it is possible to relinquish the Power."

Melinda was the last to speak up. "The potion that Mel and I found will not stop your aging but if might at least decrease it so that the only aging you do will be natural."

The adults finished talking and they sat in silence for a few moments. "Well, I guess that's all we need to know." Mel looked at the younger Sons. "We should perform the spell to go home. The longer we're in the past, the more chances we have to mess up the future." Mel stood up. "We need to draw a triquetra so we can step through time."

"Here," said Anthony. He moved a book shelf aside and revealed a wall. "And here is something you can write with," handing her a piece of charcoal. Mel traced a triquetra on the wall.

"Do you guys remember the spell?" The Sons nodded their heads. Being the first spell they cast, they were pretty sure that they would always remember it. Mel turned to Melinda as the Sons grouped with their ancestors.

"Good luck my daughter." They hugged. Stepping back, Melinda looked at the younger generation of power. Lowering her head, Melinda saw into the future. She gave a small sigh; whatever she was seeing was causing her pain and grief. When she looked back up at the teenagers her eyes were shining with tears. "Good luck to you all. You will need it. There is suffering ahead of you," she said looking at Tyler and Melinda. "Stick together and remember love can conquer all."

"Melinda, what did you see?" Mel asked.

"There's no time for that but you will find out soon enough. Go, be safe. Blessed be."

"Blessed be," Mel said back. Mel and the Sons gathered together and faced the triquetra drawn on the wall. Taking a breath, they started to chant the spell to go back home.

A voice rang out, interrupting them. "What is this, brothers? A secret meeting with witches? This is not filling me with good will toward you."

"John, we thought you were still out of town which is why we did not concern you with this. Also, your descendant didn't come back with them. You have no stake in this."

"Regardless, Garwin, I would have liked to been informed. So, these are your descendants. They seem exactly like you. Too…what is that word I'm trying to think of?"

John Putnam had a gleam in his eye that Mel didn't like. His face looked greedy. "We should really be going. Sorry we can't stay around longer to get to know you."

"Too noble. That's it. Your descendants are too noble to realize the full potential of their powers, just like you," John continued, talking over Mel. "This is why Chase Collins will defeat you. My family is the only one worthy of such Power."

Melinda moved next to Mel without being noticed by John Putnam. "You should leave now. Recite the spell quietly. I'll say it with you that way the boys do not have to."

"Hear the words, hear the rhyme, heed the hope within my mind. Send me back to where I'll find what I wish in place and time." The triquetra glowed and filled in on itself so it was only the very outline was left. "Guys, let's go."

"Let Chase know that I hope he's succeeding when you see him. We got very close when he came back here to find a way around the curse."

"You betrayed us," stated James. He threw a bolt of energy at John, knocking him to the ground and looked over to the younger group of friends. "Leave, now. This doesn't concern you. Leave before the triquetra closes."

Mel pushed the Sons toward the triquetra, even though she wanted to stay and help too. "We can't do anything; history has to go on the way it's meant to."

"But they need help. If we stay, maybe we can stop the betrayal from ever happening!" protested Caleb.

"We'll help them by defeating Chase in our time. We can't stop history." Caleb continued to resist her efforts to get him in the triquetra. "Tyler, Reid, a little help?" They grabbed Caleb.

"Mel's right, Cay. We can't do anything now but we can and will defeat Chase ourselves."

"Ty's right man. Don't be the over protective guy right now; they can handle it."

Caleb shook them off. "Fine," he said shortly. He walked into the triquetra, leaving his ancestors fighting with the man who had betrayed the Covenant. Pogue followed him, telling him there wasn't any other way. Tyler and Reid stepped in after them. Mel, before following, looked back over her shoulder in regret. She wished they could help too. Sighing, she stepped into the triquetra and stepped back out in her attic, the Sons standing before her.

* * *

"You're late," said Piper. She stood in the attic with her arms folded, glaring at the boys and her daughter.

**So, I'm not entirely sure if I like the reason I came up with to explain the Sons' powers but I wanted another tye-in to Charmed and that seemed slightly plausible. Also, the potion was something I just kinda threw together. Sorry if you don't like it but I needed to explain somehow the way Chase stopped aging besides saying he did it somehow. Sorry if you don't like it. Oh well.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Don't own it. Review if you want**

Chapter 7: All's Fair in Love and War

It had been almost a week since Mel and the Sons had traveled to the past. Piper had told them that they had actually been gone for the same amount of time so Mel had missed her second to last day of school. Her mom had been forced to call the school and tell them Mel had gone on a last minute vacation to visit some relatives. "Lucky for you," Piper had said, "you finished your exams early. Otherwise, you might have failed for missing them and not graduated. Then, you would have been grounded for life." She then grounded Mel and banned the boys from leaving the Manor unless they were with one of the Charmed Ones for magic lessons for a week. The only time Mel had been allowed out was to go to her graduation and then she and her family had gone home right after.

However, since it had been almost a week, the week long punishment was over this Saturday night. "Freedom!!" Mel sang as she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Reid looked up at her from the kitchen table. He was the only one currently there. "Tonight is going to be awesome. Wyatt got OneRepublic to come play at P3. It's going to be amazing!" Piper, although realizing her dream of opening her own restaurant, had been unable to sell her bar. So much had happened at P3. She had first opened the bar when Prue was still alive. She had officially chosen Leo over Dan at the bar. She and Phoebe had bonded with Paige and then with Billie there. P3 was an important part of her life and she had found she couldn't stand the thought of selling it. Wyatt then approached her about running it himself and she had gladly given it to him.

"I thought teenagers weren't allowed in," Reid said. "Not that it would really stop me."

"Normally yeah because of alcohol being served there but me, my cousins, and our friends are allowed in so long as we don't drink. Anyway, even if I wanted to drink, I wouldn't be able to because of Wyatt and Chris. They keep way too close of an eye on me when I'm at P3.

"Well that sounds like tons of fun, going to a bar and not drinking," Reid commented sarcastically. He put his spoon down and pushed the bowl of cereal away from him.

"You don't need to be drunk to have fun. Angie will be there."

Reid hadn't been able to see her outside of the house for the whole week they were banned to leave the house. She had come over to hang out with Mel (Piper couldn't exactly stop that) but he hadn't really been able to be alone with her. He was surprised to find himself eager to see her. He, of course, wouldn't let Mel know that; he had his reputation to think of and he just simply didn't fall for girls. He smirked at Mel. "So will any other number of hot girls."

Mel suddenly felt nervous, eager, and a little guilty. _**Where the hell did these feelings come from?**_ She looked at Reid closely. He stared back at her. "Are you hiding something?" she asked.

"No. What would I be hiding?"

"I don't know. I just got this feeling…"she trailed off. He looked at her in confusion. She shook her head, shrugging off the feelings. "Never mind. Where are the guys?"

"Downstairs, training with your brothers. You can't hear them?"

Walking over to the door that led to the basement, Mel could hear muffled thumps and groans coming from downstairs. "What are they doing?"

"Wyatt and Chris are teaching them how to fight. Kickboxing, karate, whatever works against demons."

Mel frowned. "Then why aren't you down there too?"

"My parents, when they still actually cared, had me take karate lessons when I was a kid. I mostly just use my powers to fight. Though I can't really do that anymore. Still, I know how to fight more ways than just bar fighting." He smirked, thinking of some of the fights he had gotten in at Nicky's, mostly with Aaron Abbott.

"Oh." She opened the door and watched as Wyatt sent Tyler flying across the room, crashing into a wall. Mel winced in sympathy. Pogue laughed at the dazed look in Tyler's eyes as he drank some water. Caleb was too busy sparring with Chris to notice Mel come downstairs, Reid trailing behind her.

Wyatt helped Tyler up. "You can't let yourself be distracted by anything, my sister definitely included. Kill the demon, save your innocent, save yourself."

"You forgot don't expose yourself or magic," Mel said.

"That's a given," Chris said. He stopped throwing punches at Caleb. "Good, all of you. Definitely better than a couple of days ago. But you still won't last long unless you use your powers."

"Which, until we perfect that potion, you shouldn't," Wyatt added.

Tyler checked his head for bumps. "So, what else are we supposed to do?"

"Keep training," Wyatt said.

"I think you need a different method though. They're not going to learn much by you guys wailing on them," Mel pointed out.

"Then what do you suggest, Mel? Hugs and kisses? You're not really any better at fighting then they are," Chris argued. He had issues with people questioning his methods.

"Please." Mel scoffed. "I could kick your ass and make you cry uncle. I've done it before and I'll do it right here, right now."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Mel and Chris dropped into fighting stances that were familiar to their bodies. Wyatt motioned the Sons over to the stairs.

"Trust me; you want to be out of the way for this. They tend to go all over the place when they're fighting each other." Mel and Chris circled each other, neither willing to make the first move. "They're looking for a weakness in each other, something they can take advantage of. Do the same when you're fighting." Wyatt was taking Chris and Mel's fight as an opportunity to teach the Sons more. "You see how they're circling each other so that they're facing each other all the time. Never turn your back on an opponent, if you can help it."

Mel and Chris had completely blocked out the rest of the room. They were entirely focused on each other and on the fight. They had their eyes locked on the others'; watching for any indication that the other was going to make a move. Mel's eyes caught a small movement; her dark-haired brother had slightly shifted his weight to his right leg. She threw her arm up to block his punch then countered with a side jab. He shifted to the side to avoid it and he caught her wrist as she tried to retreat. As Chris yanked Mel toward him, she broke out of his hold by slamming a foot into his instep and then hit his elbow, causing him to let go. She flipped back and they both settled into their original fighting stances.

The Sons and Wyatt watched as Mel made the first move this time. The two opponents threw punches and kicks at each other trying to beat the other down. Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb couldn't really tell what was going on or who would eventually win. Wyatt and Reid could tell though. For all the technical skill Mel had, nature was working against her. Chris was simply stronger and his punches and kicks, even though they were both trying to avoid actually hurting the other, had more force behind them. "Five bucks on Chris winning," Reid bet.

Pogue watched as Mel threw a punch combo followed by a roundhouse kick that had Chris stumbling backwards. "I'll take that bet. Mel is really good."

They watched as Chris got Mel in a hold she couldn't break out of and Pogue groaned. Chris flipped her over her his shoulder onto the ground, her back making a loud smacking noise as it connected with the cement covered by thin rugs. They were both panting and a bit sweaty. "Pay up, loser!" Reid gloated. Pogue handed him a five dollar bill.

Chris stood over Mel. "Who kicked who's ass now?" Mel smirked, breathing heavily, and swung her leg out, kicking Chris's legs out from under him. He landed on his back next to Mel.

"I did," Mel gasped. Pogue held his hand out and Reid grimaced, handing the money back to him. Tyler and Caleb laughed.

Wyatt looked at his watch. "Chris, we gotta set up for tonight. Get up, let's go." Chris regained his feet and pulled Mel up. They started walking up the stairs. At the top Wyatt stopped and turned around. "You guys coming tonight?" Mel nodded. "Come by early and help us set up and I'll introduce you to the band."

"Bribery?" Mel asked.

"If it works. Is that a problem?"

"No."

"Good." Wyatt and Chris walked out.

"Ugh. Now I need a shower. I'm gonna go get ready," Mel said and left the basement.

* * *

Given the fact that they are boys and Angie had come over to get ready with Mel, the Sons were ready to go to P3 a lot sooner than either of the girls. They were currently waiting in the conservatory for Mel and Angie to make an appearance. Caleb and Pogue were talking to Sarah and Kate on their cell phones while Tyler and Reid were watching some stupid reality T.V. show.

Reid was really impatient, waiting for the girls. He hated sitting still when he was waiting for something to do. "What the hell is taking so long?" he asked. Tyler shrugged; it's not like he knew why it took so long for girls to get ready.

* * *

"What the hell is taking so long, Angie? I've been ready for the past ten minutes and you're not even dressed yet!"

"You can't rush perfection. And I am going for perfection tonight; when Reid sees me, I want his jaw to drop." Angie walked out of Mel's closet, dressed in low slung jeans and a black halter top. "How's this?"

Mel looked up from where she was sprawled on her bed, flipping through a magazine. "Hot. Add silver jewelry like a necklace and hoop earrings and my strappy black sandals and not only will you make Reid's jaw drop, you'll knock him out." Mel grinned.

"Good." Angie sat at Mel's vanity table to do her makeup and scrunch her hair. "Now, what are you wearing?"

"This," Mel said, going back to her magazine.

"You're so boring. Don't you want Tyler to notice you?"

"I think he already has. We have kissed before. You've made out with Reid, why are you still trying to impress him?"

"I'm not trying to impress him. I just want him to notice me." Although she wouldn't tell Mel, Angie did actually want to impress Reid. She wanted a guy who would want to be with her forever and a relationship that neither she nor the guy deliberately messed up. And, she felt that if she impressed Reid enough, he might be that guy, or at least a boyfriend who lasts longer than a couple of weeks.

Mel frowned. She inexplicably felt a longing deep within. The best way to describe it was that she deeply desired for someone, not family, to love her for her, exactly as she was. That wasn't quite right, but it was the best way to describe what she was feeling. She studied her best friend. "Are you not telling me something?"

Angie hesitated. "No, why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It's just…earlier today I felt these feelings that had nothing to do with my mood. I think they came from Reid, but he didn't own up to them, of course. And the same thing just happened with you. I felt this deep longing but it didn't seem to belong to me. Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything?"

Angie shrugged her shoulders. "There's nothing to talk about, so let's drop the subject, okay?"

Mel held up her hands in a defensive manner. "Okay, subject dropped."

"Thanks. Anyway, I think you should wear that adorable black dress hidden in the back of your closet. It'll give Tyler a heart attack when he sees you in it."

"I'm fine in a T-shirt and jeans like I've got on right now. A black cocktail type dress in not something I would wear to a bar, even if I wanted to dress up more. Besides, what happens if demons show up and I need to fight?"

"Fine, don't give your boy a heart attack. And if demons show up, you'll freeze them, I TK them across the room, and then Wyatt or Chris will kill them because that's too messy for me to do." Angela stood up from the chair she was sitting on and grabbed the shoes Mel had talked about. Slipping them on, she said, "I'm ready."

Mel rolled her eyes. "Finally," she joked. "I through we were never going to leave my room during this century."

Angie smacked Melinda with her purse. Mel rolled her eyes again at her best friend and they walked downstairs. The boys heard them coming down and stood up, Pogue and Caleb hanging up their phones. "It's about time," Reid said, trailing off when he caught sight of Angie. "Well, well, well."

"Thanks. I'd say the same about you but you look the exact same," Angela said, looking the Sons up and down. This was in fact true. They were wearing the same type of clothes they usually wore: jeans, shirt or wife beater, some type of jacket, and tennis shoes. Reid also had on his usual fingerless gloves and his black hat.

Reid smirked and offered his arm to Angela and she took it. "We would have been down sooner, but someone," she said, nodding at Mel, "couldn't decide on what to wear." Before Mel could smack her, Angela pulled the blonde Son out the front door and Caleb and Pogue followed, laughing.

Tyler looked at Mel. "You look nice, even if you did take an incredibly long time." Mel scoffed at him.

"Can't rush perfection," she said, quoting Angela from earlier. Tyler laughed and grabbed Mel's hand, walking with her to the door. "Bye, Mom," Mel yelled out.

"We'll see you at the club later!" Piper yelled back. Mel and Tyler went outside and they slid into her car, Caleb and Pogue already in the back seat. Reid and Angela were going to follow Mel in Angela's car.

* * *

The music rang throughout the bar. OneRepublic was currently playing "Apologize," one of Mel's favorite songs. Wyatt and Chris were so busy making drinks and serving people that they couldn't really enjoy the band. The other bartenders were just as busy; cleaning off tables, removing glasses, wiping up spills, and restocking the pretzel bowls.

In one of the very short lulls that occasionally occurred, Chris grabbed Wyatt and gestured toward one of the tables. Mel was sitting at a corner table with the youngest Son, talking, laughing, and, if Chris wasn't mistaken, holding hands. Mel and Tyler were currently sitting alone as Reid and Angela were dancing together and two of Mel's cousins had grabbed Caleb and Pogue and the four were dancing and goofing off in a group. The two oldest Halliwell children looked at each other. Both were thinking the same thing, which was they were going to talk to Tyler as soon as possible.

Piper walked behind them toward the cash register. "What are you looking at?" She got onto her tiptoes and peered over her sons' shoulders. Following their stares, she noticed her daughter and Tyler sitting together, having a good time.

"A potential problem," Chris said.

Piper sighed. She and Leo liked that Mel was interested in Tyler; he seemed like a very nice boy and Piper liked him. "Peanut, she's happy. Don't screw this up, either of you!"

Wyatt turned his head to look at his mom. "We're not going to mess it up…per se. We're just going to make sure he doesn't mess it up."

"Yeah, Mom. Who do think we are? Over protective brothers who just want to make sure their baby sister is happy and the guy she likes is worthy of her? Like we would act like that."

Piper glared at Chris. "You know, Wyatt is never sarcastic like you which is why he wasn't in as much trouble as you growing up."

Chris shot back, "It's not being sarcastic. It's just saying the truth is a dry, mocking manner. You told me that before." He made a face back at his mom.

Piper threw an arm around each of their shoulders. Since she was a lot shorter than them, she had to get on her toes and they bent down a little bit so she could kiss each of their cheeks. "Regardless, let Mel be. Watch out for her, yes, but don't ruin this for her. Phoebe and Coop think that there is potential between them."

Wyatt narrowed his eyes. If a Cupid and his hopelessly romantic aunt who was like a Cupid without having Cupid-like powers thought that there was definitely a need to talk to Tyler. "Chris, Mel needs a refill on her Coke. And while you're over there, let Tyler know we want to talk to him."

"Oh, that's subtle, Wyatt," Piper said.

"Don't really care about subtlety. Tell him to meet us in the back office in…" Wyatt looked around the bar and did a quick estimation. "About 10 minutes."

Chris filled a glass with ice and Coke and took it over to Mel's table. While he, Wyatt, and Piper were talking, the other Sons and Angie had sat down and joined Tyler and Mel's conversation. "Here's another drink, TInk. So, what's going on?"

Melinda took the drink from him and set it down next to the full glass she already had. She raised an eyebrow as Chris grabbed a nearby chair and sat down with them. Looking over at Angela, Mel grimaced. She had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. "Not much, Chris. What's up with you?"

"Not much," he echoed. "Just wanted to talk to my baby sister and her…friends." He grinned at the group, mainly at Tyler. The Son in question shifted a little uncomfortably. He thought he might know what was going to happen too.

"Chris," Mel said warningly. She glared at her older brother. "You and Watt better not be planning what I think you're planning. Do not, I repeat, do not do anything or I will pay you back!"

He shook his head. "We're not planning anything." Chris stood up. "Can I get anybody anything else?"

"New brothers?" Mel questioned.

"Funny. Anything to drink?" The group placed their orders. "Tyler, why don't you help us get the drinks. Supplies are by the back office. Say, in five minutes." Chris left.

"Your brothers definitely get an F for being subtle, Mel," Angela laughed.

Mel groaned. "I know, they're horrible. Like it's not completely obvious that they're going to threaten Tyler." She gave Tyler's hand a comforting squeeze. "It'll be alright. The last boy I liked was only in the hospital for a couple of days and was in therapy only for a couple of months or so," she joked. She paused in thought. "Of course, there's no saying what they would do to my boyfriend. She frowned.

Tyler's face paled slightly and Caleb laughed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of Wyatt and Chris, Baby Boy."

"I'm not scared!" His brothers looked at him a little skeptically. Out of all of them Tyler was the one who had often needed the most protection from bullies while growing up. "I'm not! It's just that they are a bit intimidating and I am dating their little sister and well, I happen to like all of my limbs in their current positions. I guess I'd better go get this over with." He stood up and took a deep breath. "If I don't make it, feel free to date someone else," he said jokingly.

"You'll be fine," Mel said. "But just in case, something to remember me by." She stood up and gave Tyler a kiss. "Now, go face the lions." Tyler shook his head at her and left. Sitting back down, Mel looked at her friends and said "What?"

"Since when are you two actually dating?" Pogue asked.

"Since he asked me while you guys were dancing and I said yes. Oh, there's my Aunt Phoebe. I wanted to ask her about something. I'll go talk to her, rescue Tyler, and then be back." Mel left. Caleb and Pogue went to go talk to some people they had met and Angie and Reid went outside to get some air.

* * *

Tyler knocked on the door leading to the office. Immediately after, he thought to himself: _**the guys are right; I really need to grow a pair sometimes. They're the ones disturbing me and probably going to attempt to tear me limb to limb like they threatened when we first met them. So why should I show them any type of respect?**_Surprising himself a little bit Tyler shoved the door open and walked into the room. He stopped suddenly. Chris and Wyatt were by the small desk in the room, Chris sitting on it, Wyatt in the chair, facing him with amused looks on their faces. "Did you actually want something or did you just want me to get away from your sister?" Tyler asked belligerently.

"A little bit of both," Wyatt said. "I seem to remember when we first met giving you and your friends a warning. I said that if any of you date Mel, we will make that boy regret it."

"Actually, what you said was that if any of us hurt Mel, you would tear us apart. I don't intend on hurting Mel and I really hope I don't. Shit happens though. If something does happen between us, I would think you had enough respect for your sister to know that she could handle herself. Or know that if she didn't want to date me she wouldn't."

"So you two are actually dating?"

"Yeah, I asked her out a few moment before Chris came over to demand I come back here."

"It wasn't actually a demand," Chris said. "Just a really strong suggestion."

"Uh huh. Look, I don't have a little sister. But I can imagine how I would feel when she started dating. I'd want to make sure the guy was worthy enough for her and I don't think I'd ever really feel any guy was. I would like to think, though, that if my hypothetical sister did find someone that made her happy, I would be happy for her and I'm sure you feel the same about Melinda."

"We do want her to be happy which is why we aren't currently tearing you apart. And, believe it or not, we do like you. Mel finally picked herself a guy that is actually at least halfway worthy of her."

"Of course," Chris interrupted his older brother. "If you do hurt her, we will pay you back. Brotherly rights, after all. But we're not going to try and scare you off. If you can handle our family and all the demons that come with us, it's okay with us that you date Mel."

Tyler stared at them. "Just to make sure I have this right; you're okay with me dating your sister?"

"Yeah, as much as we'll ever be," Chris responded. Wyatt nodded in agreement.

"Well, good. Then I'm going to leave," he said motioning toward the door.

"No, don't go yet. We're okay with you dating Mel but we want to get to know you better. Sit, let's talk," Wyatt pulled moved over another chair for Tyler to sit on and the latter sat a bit reluctantly. "You know if you really wanna impress Mel, her birthday's coming up soon and she's been looking at a certain necklace."

* * *

While the boys were talking to each other, Mel had worked her way over to where her Aunt Phoebe was sitting with her husband, Coop. Phoebe smiled at her niece. "Hi, sweetie. Where's Tyler?"

"Yeah, where is the love of your life?" Coop asked teasingly.

"Uncle Coop!" Mel admonished. "Wyatt and Chris wanted to talk to him in the back office. I'm gonna go rescue him in a bit. I actually wanted to ask you about something, Aunt Phoebe," Mel said.

"Do you want me to leave?" Coop asked.

"No, that's okay. Umm, when you first received your empathy power, how did it act?"

"What do you mean, Mel?"

"Well, did you suddenly feel everyone's feelings or was it in like little bursts?"

"Little bursts, I guess. I could read people at the beginning when they were feeling a particularly strong emotion like lust or anger. As I gained control through, I could read someone when I chose to. Although, occasionally a strong emotion will still break through. Why do you ask?"

"Twice today I felt like I might be feeling someone else's emotions. First was with Reid. We were talking in the kitchen about Angie. And I felt like nervous and eager to see her. But that doesn't make sense because I can see her all the time; she's my best friend. Then he said something stupid about there being other hot girls here and I sort of felt guilty. But none of those feelings really belonged to me, if that makes sense. Then, it happened again, with Angela this time. We were talking about Reid and I was wondering why she felt the need to impress him. She asked me to drop the subject and I did but while we were talking about it, I felt this deep longing is the best way I can describe it. And again, it didn't really seem to come from me."

"Well, I suppose you becoming an empath isn't that far out of the question."

"But aren't powers usually hereditary?"

"For the most part," Coop said, "but not always. Your brothers are telekinetic but Piper isn't. Paige can orb but Henry Jr. can't. And Patience received my Cupid powers but not any of Phoebe's while Payton is the exact opposite."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Powers aren't always passed on. Is there anything I can do to stop from feeling what other people are? I mean, I don't want to be hanging out with Tyler and suddenly start feeling what he is for me myself. Talk about narcissism. And confusing."

Phoebe laughed. "Tell me about it. When I was dating Jason, I still wasn't completely used to my new power. I started to feel what he felt and then I told him I loved him too. I basically told him he loved me before he told me! Definitely caused some problems with us. Like with your other powers, control will come with time and practice. I sometimes found that if it got too overwhelming though, I could both focus solely on myself and list everything I was feeling to block other people out or meditate. Basic meditation, just wipe your mind of anything that's troubling you and your thoughts and just relax."

"Okay, I'll try it." Mel looked at her cell phone. "Tyler's been back there for about fifteen minutes. That's more than enough time for them to threaten him. I'm gonna get rescue him."

"Alright, bye sweetie." Phoebe turned back to Coop and they continued talking and flirting. Mel smiled as she left. She loved that her mom and dad and her aunts and uncles still would act like newlyweds every once in awhile.

* * *

While Mel was talking to Phoebe and Coop and Tyler with Wyatt and Chris, Angela and Reid had gone outside to the back alley. Reid leaned against the club wall and Angela stood in front of him. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. She pulled her hair out of her face and leaned in even closer, bracing her hands on his upper arms. He bent his head and Angela kissed him. Their kissing got heavier, both of them holding each other as close as they could. Breathing quickly, Angela ended the makeout session and looked at Red a bit uncertainly.

Reid frowned slightly. This really didn't seem like the Angela he thought he knew. She struck him as a girl who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it. She seemed like a really strong person. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Reid raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Really. Or at least, nothing that's that important."

"But?"

Angela frowned slightly and stepped back, Reid's hands falling back to his sides. "I know what people say about me, even Mel has said it. Of course she was telling me what the other kids were saying and that she did kind of agree with them."

Reid interrupted what he was sure could turn into a long ramble. "What do they say about you?"

"That I'm flaky. I jump from guy to guy and I purposely date bad boys who will just cheat on me. Yeah, I do date a lot and none of the relationships I've had lasted long. And so what if I have a preference? Other people do. But all of the guys I've dated I've known for awhile so it's not like I'm just sleeping with any guy I meet on the street."

Reid interrupted again. "Look, maybe you've dated a lot but I don't think anyone would even imply that you're a slut or something. If you ask anyone at Spenser, I'm a man whore or a player or however you want to term it. My reputation says that I've slept with every girl at Spenser including a lot of the female teachers, not to mention the supposed fact that I've slept with over half the girls that live in Ipswich. That's not true but I'm not going to hide the fact that I don't think you always need a deep meaningful relationship with someone to have sex. Sometimes you just want to have some fun."

"Or connect with someone for a little bit," Angie interrupted.

"Sure, but I usually just go for the fun part of it, not the connection. But that doesn't matter because I don't care what people think of me and I like my image. "The Bad Boy of Spenser," Reid said, making quotations marks with his fingers while saying it. He fell for silent for a bit and he and Angela looked at each other. To both of them it felt like there was electricity and understanding arcing between them. Reid spoke up again. "I haven't done this before so I'm not really sure how to do it or even what I'm really feeling. But whatever is between us? It's different from anything I've felt with another girl."

"It's different for me too. I'm not entirely sure what that means. But we both agree that there's something here, whatever it is?"

"Yeah. So we're good?" Reid asked.

"Yeah."

"Good." With that settled, Reid pulled Angela back in for another kiss. When they broke apart, Reid and Angela walked back into the club, their hands entwined.

* * *

It was closing time for P3. OneRepublic had had a successful night and all of the customers had left happy. Paige, Henry, Coop, and Phoebe had left early since it was so late and some of their younger teenagers were getting tired. Their littlest ones had been left with a babysitter. Billie and her husband had left too, saying goodbye to Angela who was spending the night at the Manor with Mel on their way out. They were used to their daughter staying there or Mel staying at Angie's house. Piper sometimes called Angie her second daughter because Angie was over so often and it was the same for Mel and Billie. Everyone else that was left was helping Wyatt and Chris clean up since Mel's older brothers had sent the rest of the staff home for the night.

Piper and Leo were watching their kids, Angie, and the Sons clean up. They had claimed adult privileges and said that they were they in a strictly supervisory position. They were amusing themselves with calling out cleaning tips and counting the number of times Tyler and Mel looked at each other and blushed or the number of times Angie and Reid looked at each other and smirked.

When they finished cleaning, Mel left to go get an envelope out of the back office for the cash register. Walking into the room Mel saw a figure flipping through the papers on Wyatt's desk. The figure was tall and cloaked and the cloak had a hood covering his face. _**Never a good sign, a strange hooded figure that you don't recognize**_, she thought to herself. "Who are you?" The figure turned around and Mel's eyes widened. "Uh, never mind. Forget I said anything," she said when she noticed the tribal markings on his face and the energy ball in his hand. She backed out of the room quickly and slammed the door on him and turned around. "Uh oh." Standing in the hallway were many more demons.

Everyone looked up in surprise when Mel fell out of the hallway and landed heavily on the floor. "Mel!" many of them claimed in unison. Tyler and Wyatt moved at the same time to help her out.

"Demons," she gasped. "Ten of them, maybe? Couldn't tell." She stood up and the demons came spilling out of the hallway, throwing energy balls. Reacting quickly, Piper blew up two of them while pushing Leo out of the way and Wyatt and Chris threw some of them across the room using their telekinesis. Mel and Tyler crouched behind the bar, Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Angie a little farther down.

"You okay?" Tyler asked Mel. He had noticed that she was rubbing her leg.

"I kicked a demon wrong and I think I twisted my ankle," she said wincing a little. "I'll get Wyatt to heal it if it needs to be once we finish this." Mel looked over the top of the bar cautiously and froze two demons that were advancing on her father, giving Piper the time to blow them up.

What none of them realized was that these demons were an attack ordered by Chase. He was finally making a definite move because the demons' mission was to take out as many of the Halliwell witches as possible and to capture any of the Sons they could. Chase was still after their Powers. More demons shimmered in, too many to count.

Piper yelled to Leo, "Get the kids out!" Leo, dodging energy balls, made his way over to Caleb's small group. Unnoticed by the demons, Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Angie followed him out a side door to safety. Tyler and Mel moved to follow them when a demon appeared behind them. They didn't notice him.

"The future Source will at least reward me for getting one witch and bringing him the youngest Son," he whispered to himself. The demon created a fire ball and aimed for them.

The short hairs on the back of Mel's raised and she whipped around to face the demon, Tyler following her movement. Her ankle giving out and a nearby explosion blinding her caused Mel to miss freezing the demon and he threw the fire ball at them. Unthinking, Tyler grabbed hold of Mel and Used, wishing to be anywhere but there. They vanished a split second before the fire ball hit where they had been.

Piper, Wyatt, and Chris quickly took out the rest of the demons and Piper called her husband and Caleb, his friends, and Angie back in. "Everyone okay?" she asked. Her eyes scanned the small crowd by the exit. "Leo, where's Mel?"

Reid looked around. "And Tyler?"

Piper started to panic a little bit. "Leo! What if, where did," she gasped. "Mel?" Leo rushed over to his wife, Wyatt and Chris crowding around them.

"She'll be okay, Piper. She's smart and powerful and she can figure out how to let us know where she is."

Piper tried to calm down. "Wyatt, can you sense either of them?"

Wyatt shook his head. "It could be just that they haven't landed yet. Or maybe they're in the Underworld or I'm just too worried right now to get a good reading."

"Or they're dead."

"Piper, you can't think like that. We won't give up until we find both Mel and Tyler," Leo said looking over at Caleb, Pogue, and Reid who had strained and worried expressions on their faces. "And they will be fine. You have to believe that."

P3's phone rang and Piper rushed over. "Mel?" she asked. She closed her eyes. "Phoebe. No, we're okay. Yeah, there were demons but we took care of it. But…Mel and Tyler disappeared. Can you get everyone over to the Manor so we can find them?" She listened for a bit. "Okay, thanks sweetie. And hurry." Piper hung up the phone and turned back to face everyone. "We're meeting at the Manor to find them." Now that they had somewhat of a plan Piper was in control of her emotions and was determined to get her daughter and Tyler back, safe and sound.

* * *

Tyler and Mel fell out of the air and hit a stone floor hard. Both groaning, Tyler rolled off of Mel onto his back and they both tried to catch their breath. "Tyler, what did you do?" Mel asked.

Tyler shook his head tiredly, his hair falling into his eyes. "I don't know. I saw the fire ball and saw that you couldn't do anything and I panicked and grabbed you and Used without thinking. The whole time all I was thinking was I wanted to be somewhere safe with you. I guess my Powers directed themselves and put us here." He and Mel sat up and Tyler looked around. "Speaking of here, where are we?"

Mel hadn't been paying attention and had been examining her ankle. She looked up when Tyler expressed his question and looked around. She struggled to get up and scowled when she had to grab Tyler who had also stood up to keep from falling over as her ankle refused to hold her weight right then. He had one arm around her waist and she had a hand supporting herself on his shoulder while she looked around. "This isn't good."

"Where are we?" he asked again.

"I think we're in the Underworld. Which really sucks because Wyatt and Chris can't sense anyone down here unless they're down here. Which means we don't have a way to get back up there unless they think to come down here or I make up a spell that somehow lets us contact them."

"Which means we're pretty much screwed?"

"Yep," Mel stated. She dropped her head onto to Tyler's shoulder and he hugged her a little closer, both of them more worried than they cared to admit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Standard stuff: review if you want and don't own it. Thanks to everyone for reviewing/reading my story!!!**

Chapter 8: The Underworld Sucks

"All right, the first thing we have to do is keep moving. We're targets for any demons that come looking if we're just standing here."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, Mel, but the cave we're in? It's pitch dark and I don't see a way out. And I don't feel like stumbling around, hoping we find it while running into walls."

"Me neither. I guess I can write a spell; let me think." Mel fell silent, looking around the cave. She bit her bottom lip and then started speaking. "Guiding lights show us the way. Mark our path as bright as day," she intoned.

Tyler watched as the cave grew lighter and lighter until he could see the way out. "That'll work. Are you okay to walk or should I carry you?" Tyler asked, teasing her a bit.

Mel put some weight on her ankle tentatively. "I think I'll be fine but stay close. I might need you to grab me real quick if I fall," she said, teasing back.

Tyler gave a small laugh. "Then I guess we should get moving. He held Mel's hand they moved toward the opening in the cave, Mel limping slightly.

* * *

The attic door burst open and Phoebe and Paige rushed in, followed by their husbands. Not even a minute after that Billie came running in with her husband Tim. Since he is a mortal who had never been part of the supernatural world and didn't know much about it he went back downstairs after checking himself that his daughter Angela was okay. Normally Henry would help Tim watch the kids but, since he is a parole officer, he thought he might be able to help.

Paige and Phoebe hugged Piper. "How are you holding up honey?" Phoebe asked. Paige settled for rubbing Piper's arm in a soothing motion.

"I'll be better when WYATT and CHRIS," she said their names loudly, "get back!"

"Where are they?" Paige asked. "And Leo?"

"The boys are talking to the Elders about what might have happened and Leo went to Magic School to see if he could find a tracking spell or something."

"What do you want us to do?" Paige asked.

Piper sighed. "I'm not really sure. I don't really know what to do; I guess we should wait until the boys get back with Leo," she said running a hand through her brown shoulder length hair.

"Well, what if we-" Phoebe was interrupted by blue white orbs. "Or we can wait until we hear what they have to say."

Wyatt and Chris materialized. Piper turned to them, worry etched on her face. "Well?" Chris and Wyatt shook their heads; the Elders didn't know where they could have gone. They hadn't even known that the Sons could Use to transport themselves from place to place, as they explained to their mom and aunts.

"Now what?" Billie asked.

"I'm gonna go to Magic School, see if Dad found anything." Chris left and Wyatt, Piper, the aunts, Billie, the Sons, and Angie looked at each other. Maybe Leo found something. Magic School had the greatest collection of magical tomes. Hopefully an answer could be found there.

Their hopes were dashed when Chris returned almost immediately with Leo in tow. Both of their faces were holding expressions of dejection. Rubbing a hand over her face, Piper walked into Leo's arms and buried her face in his chest. "We have to get them back," her voice slightly muffled.

"We will," he replied. Piper struggled to regain control of herself yet again. She hated losing control of her emotions because it always ended badly but it always happened when something affected her family; she either got incredibly pissed off or she just freaked out and had problems functioning. Unfortunately, this was one of those times where it was all she could to do to keep herself from falling to pieces. "Piper, listen to me. We will get them back!" Leo repeated.

The oldest Charmed One breathed deeply and stepped back from Leo, her husband, her strength, and her support. Giving him a small smile, she turned to her sisters and Billie. "Paige, you, Wyatt, and Chris try sensing for them again. If that doesn't work, orb to different areas and try sensing there. Phoebe, Billie, you two scry. Phoebe, use string and crystal, Billie use your laptop. I hope you brought it. Coop, maybe you could Cupid around with Henry and Leo, and maybe even one of the Sons should go that way you also have a connection to Tyler. Angela, you either help Phoebe or your Mom. I'm going to cast the spell to find a lost witch."

Nobody moved; they seemed to be waiting for more orders. "What are you waiting for? Go!" Piper snapped.

Billie went to get her laptop and Phoebe grabbed a map of San Francisco and a crystal tied to a string. Angela grabbed another crystal tied to a string and a globe of the world. Paige, Wyatt, and Chris orbed out after discussing where each would go. The Sons talked briefly and Reid went with Coop, Henry, and Leo. Caleb had decided that Reid's bond with Tyler was stronger than either his or Pogue's since the two younger Sons are best friends.

Piper settled down on the floor in front of a silver mortar and she had an athame in her left hand. Putting the knife down, Piper threw some rosemary, cypress, and a yarrow root into the bowl. While grinding the herbs together, Piper said "Power of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies. Come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here." Piper picked the athame up again and pricked her finger. Spilling her blood into the mortar, she finished the spell. "Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."

Phoebe paused in her scrying. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? My daughter's missing! What isn't wrong?" Piper exclaimed.

"No, I know what's wrong with you Piper. I was asking Caleb and Pogue." Phoebe looked at the Sons in question. Pogue and Caleb had backed up against a wall to stay out of the way and had been conversing with each other. "Well? I can tell you're worried."

"How did-?" Caleb wondered.

"How did I know you're worried? I'm an empath; I can sense feelings. Now, what are you worried about?"

"It's Tyler," Pogue said. "Teleporting like he did and with Mel in tow and he's probably addicted now. Transporting mass requires a lot of Power, more than we thought Baby Boy had. Chase could do it but he had his full Power plus his father's. We didn't think it was possible for Tyler to do it."

"His desire to protect Mel must have been great enough to give his powers the needed boost," Phoebe stated.

"Your brother is a good person," Piper said.

Caleb nodded and Pogue said, "We know. Tyler is…well, Tyler. It's the best way to describe him."

As Phoebe went back to her scrying, Billie came back with her laptop and set up. Piper was about to go back to casting her spell when Coop, Henry, and Reid came back.

"Anything?" Piper asked. "Where's Leo?"

"Underworld. He stayed with Mel and Tyler," Coop said.

"You found them? Where are they? Is Mel okay?" In Piper's excitement her words tripped over each other, the questions running together. She had gotten to her feet and was a couple steps away from wringing her hands.

Coop hesitated and then answered. "Call for Wyatt. Mel's hurt," Coop said.

"What? How bad?" Phoebe asked.

"Bad enough," Coop responded.

"Don't go into details! Just go get her. NOW!" Piper yelled. Coop left. "Wyatt! Paige! Chris! Get back here now! Coop found Mel and she needs to be healed."

* * *

Tyler and Mel had wandered around the Underworld, avoiding demons whenever possible. When they couldn't, Mel either froze them, managed to tap into her empath power to use their magic against them, or they ran. More often than not they ran. Her freezes didn't always work and she didn't have the greatest control over her new power.

After one of the times where they had to run away, Mel looked up and saw Tyler's face. She jerked to a stop, causing him to stop too. "What's wrong, Mel?"

"Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good."

"No, not really. I feel kind of…tight. Tense, I guess."

"Like you need to Use?" Mel gripped his hand tighter, trying to give him any comfort she could.

Tyler looked off into the distance, his gaze searching but for what, she didn't know. "Yeah. Like I need to Use."

"Are you going to be okay?"

Tyler swallowed, still not looking at Mel. "It's hard…right now. But, if I can keep from Using for awhile I think I'll be okay."

"Try concentrating on something else. Like, math problems or history facts or…reciting Shakespeare!"

Tyler gave a small laugh at that. What Mel didn't know is that he could recite some Shakespeare. His English class at Spenser had required them to memorize one sonnet and one speech for the final he ended up not having to take. "I'd rather concentrate on how pretty you are."

Mel blushed and ducked her head a little bit. "You're kind of corny, you know?"

He grinned at her. "Is that bad?"

"Not so much," Mel said, tilting her head back to look him in the eyes. He lowered his head to cover her lips with his own but Mel cleared her throat and stepped back. "As much as I want to, we should probably keep moving." They started walking again, still holding hands. They wandered around the Underworld for awhile. They turned down a passage and were still moving when Tyler pulled Mel to a stop. "What?"

"Shh." Tyler listened for a second. "Can you hear that person talking?" he whispered.

Mel frowned, trying to hear what Tyler had heard. Straining her ears, she thought she caught someone talking but couldn't tell what they were saying. "Yeah," she whispered back. "But I can't make out what they're saying or who it is."

Tyler and Mel edged a little closer to figure out who it was. The Son motioned for Mel to stop but before Tyler could walk any farther toward the large cavern, Mel grabbed him. "Are you sure you should go? I'm the one who can freeze things and you shouldn't use your Powers. What if they see you?"

Tyler shook his head. "I'm just gonna look. I'll be right back, just wait here. And if they see me, I'll come running back and then you can freeze them. I'm not going to hide behind you just because you can use your magic and I can't use mine."

Mel looked like she wanted to argue some more but Tyler left before she could. She watched him anxiously as he moved silently toward the cavern. She put her hands up, ready to freeze anything that wanted to harm him as Tyler peeked around the corner. He stared for a couple of seconds and then made his way back to Mel.

"Well? Who is it?"

"Chase and I think there's a demon there too. C'mon, they're talking about us." Tyler pulled Mel farther up the passage and they stopped at a point where they couldn't see or be seen but they could hear clearly.

"Updates?" Tyler whispered to Mel that the person talking was Chase. Mel rolled her eyes. She could almost tell just from the voice. Chase Collins seemed to have an "evil" voice; hearing him talk sent shivers down Mel's spine and not in the good way.

"The attack on the club was unsuccessful in the way we wanted it to be. We were unable to kill any of the Halliwells or capture any of the Sons, but we did cause a fair amount of mayhem and the youngest Son and the daughter of the oldest Charmed One vanished. I have my best demons searching for them right now; I can send more if you wish, Lord Chase."

"No, that shouldn't be necessary. I trust that you will find them before the witches do. Otherwise…" Chase trailed off, letting the demon fill in the silence.

"Yes, Lord." The demon fell silent.

"Is there something else, Cartian?"

"My lord, I have wondered. Why are you going against the Halliwells? Surely you know what has happened to the past Sources, the Triad, the Avatars, Christy Jenkins, and any other demons and warlocks they have vanquished. Really, they are best left alone. They have defeated every demon that has gone up against them. It's suicide."

"Enough. I don't care about the Halliwells; they can rot in hell for all I care. I want the Sons. And those idiots just happen to be under the protection of the damned witches. Killing the witches will just be an added bonus but if you can manage to get my brothers away from them without messing with the witches, by all means do so. I can't use Wiccan magic; because of my nature, I am unable to tap into that particular magic. The Sons can because they are essentially good, even if the Power they use is actually evil. I can receive their Powers though, which is why I want them. Besides the fact that I owe Caleb some pain. This time, I plan on attacking Tyler first. He is the most vulnerable of the Sons and with him gone, the others won't last one. They care about each other too much, the stupid fools."

Tyler and Mel shared a look; at least they knew what it was Chase wanted, even though they kind of already figured he was only interested in the Sons. Mel wasn't very happy though that Chase intended on attacking Tyler to tear the Sons apart. She leaned her head against the stone wall and closed her eyes, feeling the worry she felt for him and the worry he felt for himself. As if sensing this, Tyler cupped Mel's cheek and she opened her eyes to look at him. He shook his head and mouthed "It's not going to happen."

They went back to listening to Chase rant about how much he hated the Sons and Mel and Tyler shook their heads at each other. Mel mouthed "Broken record, much?" and Tyler laughed softly. He wouldn't have done that if he knew that Chase randomly Used to look around the Underworld to check on his demons. Normally Chase didn't bother looking at the area around his throne but this time he did because he though he might have heard something in the hallway. A small smirk covered his lips and he silently motioned for Cartian to check the tunnel leading out of the cavern.

Mel and Tyler looked up to see a burly form in the tunnel opening. He had a fireball in one hand and a menacing look was written all over his face. "The Source wants to talk to you."

"And if we don't want to talk to His Bigheadness?" Mel asked, knowing it wasn't going to matter either way; they were pretty much trapped because there was no way they could run from the demon. He threw the fireball at the stone above their heads. "Right." She and Tyler stood up and followed the demon.

Chase stood up. "Baby Boy! Just the Son I wanted to see. Of course, I really want Caleb, but you'll be a nice distraction."

"You know, Chase, Caleb doesn't swing that way. He's still with Sarah, so I don't really think you stand a chance. And don't call me Baby Boy; you're not one of the Sons."

"Well, what if I get with your little witch?" he said, looking Mel up and down. "That could be fun."

Mel drew back a little in disgust, unconsciously half hiding behind Tyler. "You stay away from her! I swear to God, if you even touch her, I won't wait for Caleb. I'll kill you right here, right now."

"Oooo, Baby Boy grew up!! Well, it's about time." Chase laughed in derision. "Cartian, I think it's time for that one plan of mine. Would you go and get the genie." Even though it was phrased like a question, it was actually a statement.

"My lord, are you sure? I don't think you should be left alone."

"You question my ability to handle two people who are less powerful than me? GO!" Cartian left before Chase could kill him.

"I'm surprised at you, Tyler. Pleased that you're finally standing up for yourself but, well, I can't let that happen." Mel felt Chase's intentions and they both watched as Chase's eyes flashed with fire and then bled black. The rock above them shifted and Tyler shoved Mel out of the way and then dove out of the way as pieces of rocks fell where they had been. Mel hit the floor, her back smacking the stone, stunned because she hadn't been expecting Tyler to push her; she had only been focused on Chase and wasn't paying attention to Tyler. He, however, rolled right back to his feet. His body loose, Tyler was ready to either start fighting hand to hand or with his Powers, addiction be damned. He would protect Mel, even if it meant his life.

Mel struggled to her feet, trying to get her bearings. The room was spinning because she had hit the floor rather hard so she didn't realize that two warlocks, Cartian, and a figure dressed in bright colorful clothes had come in. The warlocks blinked over to Tyler and grabbed a hold of him while Chase quickly talked to the genie. Mel was still shaking off her dizziness when she caught sight of the genie nodding his head and snapped his fingers. She briefly wondered what wish Chase had made when her dizziness finally went away. Her eyes widened as Chase's eyes focused on her and flashed with fire. Before she could react, Chase threw an energy ball at her and she went flying into a wall. Lifting her head slightly, she focused on the blurry appearance of her father, Coop, Henry, and Reid and faintly heard Tyler yelling her name. Her stomach lurched and Mel gave into the swirling blackness.

* * *

Piper paced the room as she waited for Coop to get back with her husband, Tyler, and Mel. She turned to Wyatt again. "Maybe you should go down there and heal her there. Coop's taking a really long time to get back."

"Mom, we talked about this already. Chris went down there to see if he could sense them. Aunt Paige and I stayed here so we could heal Mel; in case she needs both of us. It's only been about a minute since you called us. It takes about that long to orb from the Underworld and it might take longer for Uncle Coop because he has to focus more than we do since his power is based on love and he has to focus on the right relationship; otherwise he could end up in the past or future."

"You know, Wyatt, you could let your Mom fret instead of being rational!" Wyatt hugged Piper and she wrapped her arms around him. "Henry, Reid, go back over what happened after you arrived."

"We got there as Chase threw an energy ball at Mel. She hit a wall and lost consciousness. Tyler Used to vanquish the two warlocks and started throwing his Power at Chase. Leo, Henry, and Coop ran over to Mel and I helped Tyler with Chase. The demon that was there told the…genie to get Chase out of there and they disappeared. Then, the demon shimmered out and Coop brought me and Henry back. We tried to get Tyler to come, but he refused to come with us." Reid finished summarizing what had happened and as he finished, Coop finally came back with Leo and Tyler in tow, Leo carrying Mel. Chris orbed back in after them, sensing that they had come back home.

"Wyatt, Paige, hurry. She's lost a lot of blood," Leo exclaimed. Wyatt and Paige rushed over to Mel. Wyatt took control of healing her head which had the biggest wound from when she had hit the wall. Paige quickly healed the broken arm Mel had and then went to Tyler to see if he needed to be healed. He had a couple of cuts but was mostly exhausted from Using too much.

"What's taking so long?" Tyler asked.

"She almost died," Chris explained shortly. "It always takes longer if the wound is serious."

Wyatt finished healing Mel and her parents and brothers surrounded her, waiting for her to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at them. Wyatt helped her sit up and then hugged her. "How bad can I hurt him?" Mel asked, her voice muffled because Chris had joined in the hug and they both were kind of smothering her. "Air," she gasped. They let her go and Piper and Leo hugged her next. After a couple of minutes of holding their daughter (during which Wyatt and Chris would randomly touch her as if to make sure she was actually there), they let her go and the rest of her family, including Billie, Tim, Angela, and the rest of her cousins who had come running up the moment she was back, tackled her. Gasping for air again, she broke free of them. Getting to her feet, she was a bit surprised when Caleb hugged her quickly then passed her to Pogue, who did the same, and then passed her to Reid. When he was done, Tyler pulled Mel into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

Phoebe, sensing that Tyler needed to talk to Mel alone, convinced everyone to leave the room and at the same time, got Piper to agree to cook a big celebratory meal. Tyler lowered his head so his forehead rested against Mel's. Both of their eyes were closed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked. "You didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I couldn't stop Chase from hurting you. I tried but I wasn't strong enough to kill him."

"Hey," she said, "I'm glad you didn't kill him. Even though he's evil, he's still human. It's different from vanquishing demons or warlocks because it's murder. You wouldn't have been the same; it would have changed you and I like you exactly as you are."

Tyler was silent and Mel could tell he was struggling with himself. "Please don't ever do that again. Scare me like that. When I saw you bleeding…"

"Shh. I know, but I'm okay. You're okay, we're okay, and we will get him."

Tyler was silent again. Then he whispered, so quietly she almost didn't catch it, "I think I love you."

"What?" Mel gasped. Her heart thudded and her stomach jumped. She opened her eyes and they pulled back their heads so they could look at each other.

"I said," he talked a little bit louder so his voice was just a little bit louder than a whisper, "I think I love you. I know it's insane; we haven't known each other very long but we've been through a lot and well, I think I'm in love with you." Mel stared at him. "Mel?" he said a bit uncertainly after her not responding for what seemed like forever to him. "Should I not have told you? Is it too late to take it back?"

"No, no you can't take it back. I'm glad you told me. Tyler, there's a small chance that I might be feeling the same way," she said, moving her hands up to his shoulders. He placed his hands around her waist.

"How small?"

"Well, I don't really know how to reassure it, but I know that I love being with you and I don't like it when we're apart. I can't wait to see you when you're not around and when you are with me, everything is perfect…even if we're in the middle of a demon attack. So, however you want to measure that, that's your answer."

"I'd say that's a lot." Tyler pulled Mel closer again so he could rest his head on top of her's and they stood together in contentment.

Mel laughed when she heard Tyler's stomach growling. He turned a little red and she laughed at him again. "Let's go get some food. I heard Aunt Phoebe talk Mom into cooking." Tyler followed Mel out of the attic.

No one knew that late that night, the triquetra on the book glowed. The book shook and fell off of it's stand, hitting the floor as the Charmed symbol stopped glowing and the book fell still.


	9. Chapter 9

**Don't own it. Review if you want**

Chapter 9: What the hell is going on with Piper's kids?

The next morning Mel stumbled into the kitchen around noon. The smell of cooking bacon, sausage, and eggs hit her nose and she winced slightly. She grabbed a chair, sat down, and then dropped her head into her hands, her elbows resting on the table in front of her. She gave a low groan when the microwave dinged and the buzzer on the stove went off.

Tyler opened the microwave while Chris turned off the buzzer. Mel was rubbing her temples as Wyatt put a cup of tea in front of her. "Morning, sunshine!" he said brightly.

"You suck."

"How you feeling, Tink?" Chris asked. Tyler looked on in concern. Yeah, he was tired from yesterday but Mel looked a lot worse.

"Oh, like I got thrown around by a psycho, hit my head, almost died, and then got healed by my older brother just in time. I'm definitely feeling what happened yesterday."

"Take it easy for awhile and you should be fine in a couple of hours," Chris commented.

"Drink this," Wyatt commanded as he pushed the cup closer to Mel. "It's chamomile, it'll help."

Mel took a sip as Tyler sat next to her with a plate of food. Stealing a piece of bacon from him, she asked where everyone else was.

"Around. Everyone got a late start today," Tyler told her.

"Caleb and Pogue are helping Dad do repairs around the house and some at Magic School, Reid went with Angela and Billie to get more magic supplies, and Mom is…somewhere. Probably doing laundry and cleaning the attic," Chris added on.

The four mindlessly chatted. Mel kept sipping her tea, slowly feeling more human. Piper came in from the laundry room and joined in. When Mel finished her tea, she went upstairs to take another shower and to change clothes. Piper went to _Charmed_ because apparently there was some type of crisis and they absolutely needed her and Chris orbed a way to answer a call from one of his charges, leaving Tyler and Wyatt to clean up the kitchen.

* * *

Wyatt and Tyler met Mel running down the stairs. "Hey, do you know if any one moved the book last night?" Mel asked Wyatt.

"No one touched the book last night. After Coop brought you and Tyler back and we had our hug fest, everyone went back downstairs for dinner. After that, we all crashed. I highly doubt anyone woke up in the middle of the night to flip through the Book. Why?"

Mel rubbed her neck in confusion. "Well, I went up there after I took a shower and got dressed and the Book is on the floor."

"Do you think a demon tried to get the Book? Didn't you tell me that evil can't touch the book?" Tyler asked. Wyatt shoved past them and headed up the stairs. If someone was after the book, someone was after his family and that was never good.

"Get Dad and the other guys," he yelled back, making it to the attic door.

Mel gave a small sigh and led Tyler back down the stairs and outside to the back of the house where Leo, Caleb, and Pogue were sitting down, taking a break from raking leaves. "Dad!" Leo looked up in concern at Mel's raised voice.

"What's wrong honey?"

"We think someone is after the Book."

"What!" Leo, Caleb, and Pogue followed Mel and Tyler upstairs. Wyatt looked up when they entered the attic, pausing from flipping through the pages.

"The Book is different." He motioned for them to come over and look at the page he was on. "Look, hemlock killing spell."

"What? Hemlock? That doesn't belong in the book." Mel commented, looking at the book. She flipped some pages. "These spells are all for personal gain or evil."

Leo shook his head. That spell, the one with hemlock, reminded him of something. This had happened before…he concentrated, trying to bring the right memory back. "Hemlock. Hemlock. Let me see the spell again." He reached out to touch the book. When his hand touched the page, he jerked his hand back in surprise. "The Book just shocked me!"

"I don't get it. What's going on?" Tyler asked. He, Caleb, and Pogue were completely confused. Yeah, they knew that evil couldn't touch the book but they didn't get why Leo couldn't touch the book while Mel and Wyatt could. Leo used to be a Whitelighter too so they knew he was good.

"Someone's messing with the Book of Shadows," Wyatt said, his face darkening at the thought at what that might mean. "Do you think Mom or one of the aunts is turning evil again?"

"This has happened before," Leo said. "The book turning evil, I mean. I just remembered it; back when Prue was alive, I think it was a year after they found out they were witches but before me and Piper got married, there was this warlock. He forced Prue into a marriage. A dark priestess cast a spell so that the warlock's evil made its way into Prue, turning her evil. She turned your Mom and Phoebe evil in turn and the Book too."

"Well, that's just fascinating, Dad but what does that have to with what's happening now?" Mel asked snappishly. Leo backed up a bit, motioning for the Sons to do the same.

"The Book turned evil because the Charmed Ones were evil. But the Book is no longer theirs. Your generation has taken over. And if I'm right…"

Mel looked up at Wyatt. "We're turning evil." She titled her head and thought about that. "That's kind of cool. I wonder if Chris is turning too. Chris!" she yelled out.

"We're not evil, Mel."

"Aren't you, Wyatt?" Leo asked.

"No," Wyatt's voice changing to a darker, more serious tone as he talked. "There is no such thing as evil or good. It's about Power. Who has it and who doesn't. I, Melinda, and Christopher have Power; more than the Charmed Ones." Chris orbed in, responding to Mel's call. Leo and the Sons looked on in horror while Wyatt and Mel were excited. Chris had rematerialized in black orbs.

"Well, I guess that answers whether or not Chris has been changed." Mel grinned.

"So, my charge that called? Complete drag by the way…until we," Chris laughed, "got personal. Even better when the demon showed up. Man, was that a mess!" Chris walked over to stand behind the book. He and Wyatt were flanking Mel. Acting on instinct, they each held a hand over the Book of Shadows. Leo closed his eyes; he didn't want to see what was going to happen. He knew that his sons would change appearance. Both would grow long hair, scruffy beards, and their clothes would change to darker coloring. Wyatt's clothes would be all black and tighter than a normal guy would wear clothes while Chris's would be ripped and give the appearance of being slightly dirty. He didn't want to see how his sweet daughter would change.

Tyler watched as Wyatt, Chris, and Mel were surrounded by a dark light. When the light cleared, he saw that Wyatt and Chris looked differently than they normally did. Mel took him by surprise. She hadn't changed much physically. Her hair was down now and loosely curled instead of the ponytail it had been in. Her clothes, which had been jeans and a plain blue t-shirt, was now skinny, low cut jeans paired with a pair of black boots. Her shirt was a black tank top. Her shirt and pants didn't meet so part of her stomach was showing and Tyler was surprised to see a silver triquetra belly button piercing. His jaw dropped. Although he knew she was evil now, he still found her extremely hot.

A slow grin covered Chris's face. "I think we have some business to take care of in the Underworld, right Wy?"

"We do, Christopher. It's time the Underworld was organized by a single leader."

"Excuse me? Single leader? Then what are me and Chris going to do? Be your bodyguards? Yeah, right. Get a fucking firestarter for that!"

"Silence, Melinda! Of course you and Christopher will lead with me. But before we go…Excalibur!" Wyatt held out his hands and the mythical sword appeared in his grasp. "Now there is no way the Charmed Ones can use the sword's magic against me. Let's go." Before he orbed out, Wyatt looked at Leo. "You shouldn't look so worried; we're just fulfilling a new destiny. However, do not send Mom or the aunts after us. They are, after all, still family and I would hate for us to have to kill them." He orbed out and Chris followed him, leaving Mel behind.

She shook her head. "They're always doing that! Well, see you around Dad, Caleb, Pogue. Tyler, baby, you ever got bored with being good, come see me. Or, if I decide I want you around, well, we'll turn you anyways." She reached out for the Book, holding it in her arms. "I'll take this. It's not like you can use it anymore anyways."

Before she could leave, even though he wasn't sure how she would manage that, Tyler stepped forward. "Mel, don't do this. I'm sure your Mom can figure out a potion or a spell to turn you back. Don't go."

"I don't want to be turned back. I like being free. I don't have to worry about consequences and I can finally use magic the way it was meant to be. Why would I give that up?"

Leo stepped forward next. Maybe they could break through to her. This was the first time Mel had been turned evil so maybe it would be easier to turn her back to good, especially since she hadn't used her powers for anything evil yet. "To be with us. Your family, your friends. Tyler."

Mel looked down at the book and traced the triquetra with her finger. Her family and friends meant a lot to her and Tyler was the exact same. She thought about staying. But… "No, I'm not giving this up. Catch me if you can!" She smirked and disappeared.

"How?" Caleb asked.

Leo interrupted him. "It's called blinking. It's how warlocks move around. Piper and Phoebe could do it when they were turned evil. But since Wyatt and Chris are part whitelighters, they turn into darklighters." Leo tightened his mouth. "I better go call Piper. We've gotta get them back before they do something completely evil." He left to go call his wife.

"Do you remember what Melinda Warren said before we left the past?" Pogue asked his brothers.

"Something about there being suffering in our future?" Caleb responded.

"And that we need to stick together and "love will keep us together," Pogue finished, quoting the song from Captain and Tennille.

"And how she seemed to be looking at Mel and Tyler specifically."

"Yeah, okay that happened guys. But what does that have to do with right now?" Tyler wondered if his Caleb and Pogue were going to get to their point anytime soon.

"Well, maybe it's different for you Tyler but I know I was suffering when I thought Chase was going to kill Sarah." Caleb said.

"Or Kate," Pogue put in. "And, man? Your girlfriend just turned evil. And is going to take over the Underworld with her brothers. Get it now Baby Boy?"

"Yeah, okay. I get it. But what's it going to mean?"

"I don't know Tyler. But we'll figure it out." Caleb said. He turned around to walk out the attic. Pogue clapped a hand on Tyler's shoulder and then followed Caleb. Tyler stood in the attic, just looking around and worrying about Mel.

Downstairs, Caleb motioned for Pogue to follow him into the bedroom Chris and Wyatt still shared while they were looking for apartments. He shut the door so Leo or Tyler couldn't accidentally overhear him because they were not going to like what he was going to say. "I hope I'm wrong but what if it's part of our destiny to stop them from taking over the Underworld?"

"What are you saying, Caleb? You want to kill Mel? She's a part of our group now because she's dating Tyler! Just like Sarah is because of you, Kate because of me, and if Reid ever pulls his head out of his ass, Angie would be a part of the group too. Tyler is never going to go for this and you know that."

"Of course I don't want to kill her. Hell, I half see her as a younger sister too! But if it comes down to it, if we absolutely have to, would we be able to do it?"

Pogue breathed out heavily. "If we absolutely had to? Maybe. But I don't want to."

"Me neither, trust me. But if the same thing were to happen to Sarah, I know she would want me too. If there was no chance of saving her. We need to keep this from Tyler and definitely her family because I have no doubt that Piper would kill us if she found out. But, we should tell Reid. That way, it's three on three."

Pogue frowned. "Man, I hope it doesn't come down to that." Caleb nodded in agreement. Both sat down, thinking about what they might have to do and both boys felt sick at the thought of taking a human life, especially the life of someone they liked and they knew their brother might love.

* * *

"But I don't understand how it happened! When me and Phoebe turned evil it was because of Prue. And other times were because of the Hollow or a spell. But what caused Mel, Chris, and Wyatt to turn evil?" Everyone was gathered in the living room. Piper was pacing while Leo was following behind her, trying to get her to sit down. Paige and Phoebe were sitting at the table which was completely covered with other books they had that were about magic and were flipping through them. Reid, Angie, and Tyler were sitting on one couch while Caleb, Pogue, Coop, Henry, and Billie were either leaning against a wall, sitting on the floor, or were sitting on chairs scattered throughout the room.

"Maybe there was a spell cast that we don't know about, Piper." Paige said.

"I know, I know. But if we did know, that might make it easier to turn them back!" Piper exclaimed.

"The genie." Tyler said.

"The what?" Phoebe asked him.

"The genie. That guy that was weirdly dressed and was with Chase. Before he attacked Mel, Chase said something to the genie but I didn't hear what. Could that do anything?"

"A genie would have the power to turn Mel evil if Chase wished it," Leo said.

"But why would Chase want them to be evil? I mean, Wyatt alone is a major badass. Pair him with Mel and Chris and they could easily take him out. It's not very smart," Angie commented.

"Maybe he didn't think about the wish hard enough. Or worded it wrong and could have meant something entirely different. That's the problem with wishes and genies; you never know what you're going to exactly get," Phoebe explained.

"What are we going to do?" Caleb asked.

"The only thing we can do," Piper responded. "Get them back."


	10. Chapter 10

**Don't own it. Two more chapters to go. Review if you want. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!**

Chapter 10: New rulers and a plan

Mel blinked around the Underworld, trying to find her brothers. She gave up after a few minutes because the book was getting heavy and she figured that Wyatt and Chris would come find her sooner or later. Standing along a wall in a large stone cavern, she yelled for Wyatt and Chris.

"Are you lost, little girl?" Mel spun around to see a leech demon standing behind her.

Raising an eyebrow, Mel shifted the Book to one hand and planted her other hand on her hip and answered the albino demon. "Yeah, actually. I can't find my brothers. We're taking over the Underworld, so I kinda gotta find 'em. The leader the Underworld has now is so… weak and pathetic."

"I agree with you which is why I'm throwing my weight behind the leader of the other outcast demons. But," he smirked slightly, "I'm not sure a cute little girl like you could possibly rule demons. First, aren't you one of those damn Halliwell witches? Second, do you even have any demonic powers?"

"Yes, I am one of those damned Halliwell witches. Thank God though something happened to me and my brothers and we're embracing our new nature: evil. And I'm more powerful than you can even imagine. You're just a low-level leech demon. It's not like you have any real powers."

"I wouldn't underestimate the power I do have, little girl. I could drain you and steal your powers. In fact, I think I will feed off you." The demon moved closer to her, forcing her entirely against the wall, caging her in by placing his hands on either side of her.

Mel clutched the book to her side in one arm, grateful he hadn't noticed it. She was positive she could kill the demon and was willing to test it but she didn't want to risk the book. "You can try," she scoffed. His white hair fell into his red tinged eyes as he brushed some of Mel's brown hair out of the way as he lowered his lips to her neck. Although leech demons didn't have to actually touch their target to drain magic, this particular demon was a bit perverted and preferred contact. And his favorite type of contact? Mouth to neck, especially if his victim was a girl although he was okay with male victims and the same method.

As his dry cracked lips touched her neck, making her skin crawl in disgust Mel realized she could feel the slightest pull of her magic leaving her. She used one of her new powers to conjure a knife and stabbed him in the stomach. He backed away and pulled the knife out, a look of pain and disbelief on his face.

"Can I rule the Underworld now?" she asked as he burst into flames. Once his ashes dropped and the thin haze of smoke cleared, she caught sight of her brothers.

"You shouldn't have killed him, Mel. Now we're gonna have a hard time convincing the outcasts to join us," Chris commented. "We could have used the leeches and maybe even the vampires behind us."

"So what? I was supposed to just let him drain my magic? I had more power than him so I took advantage of it."

"Melinda is right, Christopher. It's nature for the strong to survive while the weak perish. And it sets an example for any other demons wanting to rebel against us."

"Ha!" Melinda exclaimed. She handed the book to Chris and then linked her arms through her brothers'; Chris laughed with her while Wyatt tolerated what he viewed as his siblings' foolishness. "So, we going after Chase?"

"Yes," Wyatt said. "He is really the only one who could challenge us for the position of leader. The faster we take care of him, the better it will be."

"Wy's right," Chris commented. "Also, we talked about it and we think that we should strip Mom and the aunts' of their magic. Just to be safe."

"Sounds good. So…let's go kill us a weakling!" Mel exclaimed. Wyatt orbed them out and they reappeared in the passage way that led to Chase's temporary throne room. Before they moved to go in, Mel was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Hey, Wyatt, I just thought of something."

Wyatt smirked. "You're thinking again. That's never good."

Chris gasped and clutched his chest in surprise. "Wyatt, the great and powerful, the twice-blessed, just made a joke! It must be the end of the world!"

"It does happen on occasion, Chris. What are you wondering, Mel?"

"Where do you put Excalibur when you aren't holding it? Like right now? Where is it?"

"That's it? I send it the sword to an alternate plane. Now, can we go on with taking over the Underworld?"

"I was just wondering. Anyway, let me go first," Mel said. "Chase seems like the kind of guy who doesn't believe a girl can kick his ass and I want to prove him wrong. Besides the fact that I owe him for almost killing me last night." Leaving her brothers behind, Mel sauntered into the stone cavern where Chase was sitting in the middle. "Knock, knock."

Chase jerked at the sound of her voice; he had been dozing in his chair. He focused on Mel, mild confusion written on his face. "You're still alive? I thought I killed you."

"Well, one thing you should learn about us Halliwells is that we never stay dead for long. And, as my Mom often says, you're not demon enough to kill me."

"Whatever. So, what are you here for? You dump Baby Boy and decide you want me? Can't blame you, maybe I'm not demon enough to kill you but I am man enough to keep you satisfied. Or make you my wee-otch, if I want."

"Wee-otch?" Mel muttered to herself. "Wee-otch. Are you kidding me?" she said, her voice rising as she spoke. "What type of evil being are you? Why can't you just say bitch? That just makes you sound completely stupid. You are so lame! And no, I'm not here for your…sexual prowess. I'm taking over the Underworld with my brothers and, well, you're in the way."

"Really. Well, I know something you don't know," Chase said in a singsong tone. He smirked when Chris and Wyatt orbed in behind him.

The outcast Son let his eyes bleed black and a crossbow materialized in his hands. He aimed at Chris, instinctively knowing that Chris was the weaker out of the two brothers. "I don't think this has ever been used on a turned whitelighter. But I've been told it will still work." He released an arrow that headed directly fro Chris's heart.

Mel froze the arrow and Chris plucked it out of the air. "I know something you don't know!" Mel sang, mocking Chase. She blinked so she was standing right behind Chase. Standing on her tiptoes, she whispered in his ear, "You know the problem with typical evil beings? They're so busy gloating about their evil plan that they mess it up themselves." She stepped back and to the side so she wouldn't be hit by what she knew was coming.

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked. He was completely confused now and finally realizing that his plan to get the younger Halliwell witches on his side and under his rule had backfired. They were supposed to be helping him take over the Underworld and then the world and instead they were here to remove him. Something had gone wrong with the wish he asked of the genie. Something had gone horribly wrong.

"Chase Collins, you are in the way. Either you abdicate the throne willingly and leave the Underworld or we remove you ourselves," Wyatt commanded.

"Then you're going to have to kill me."

"Done," Chris said. Wyatt TK'd the arrow into Chase's heart before he could do anything to avoid it. Chase stumbled back, his eyes wide.

Mel circled to the front of Chase and looked at him, her head tilted to the side. "This is taking too long," she remarked. "Can't you like orb him into a volcano?"

"Double done," Chris said as he waved his hand. Chase disappeared in a swirl of black orbs.

"That was so easy. I wonder why Tyler and his brothers were afraid of him?" Mel wondered.

"Because they are limited by their Powers; we are not." Wyatt snapped his fingers and a demon appeared before him. "You were Chase's second-in-command?" he asked of the demon. Mel recognized him as Cartian.

"Yes, I was."

"I, along with my siblings, will be ruling the Underworld now. Spread the news and tell any who wish to challenge our claim to come here and I will deal with them. Go." Wyatt said. Cartian bowed his head and shimmered out. That finished, Wyatt took a seat in the throne-like chair that used to be Chase's.

Mel high-fived Chris. "We rule!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Wyatt just smiled. They did rule and no one could stop them now.

* * *

Leo, the Sons, Angie, Henry, and Coop were waiting anxiously for the Charmed Ones and Billie to get back. It had been a couple of hours after Mel and her brothers had turned evil and left the Manor. After freaking out a little more, Piper finally got pissed off at her children. She was bringing them back one way or the other and they were going to be grounded for life, even if that meant stripping their powers. This, in fact, is what she and her sisters had decided to do. They had made their most powerful binding potion and armed with the spell to call for a witch's power, had gone to the Underworld with Billie to get them back. They had left about five minutes ago.

Caleb and Pogue had filled Reid and Angela in on their back up plan to take out Melinda if there was no other possible way to save her or Wyatt and Chris. They hated it too and Angela absolutely refused to do it but Reid saw the sense in it. He agreed that it should be the absolutely last resort and that they shouldn't tell Tyler because he would just flip out on them.

Leo was staring out the window when he heard the jingle of orbs. He turned around and watched in horror as his wife and sister-in-laws were dropped off by black orbs. Reacting quickly, he grabbed one of the extra vials of binding potion and threw it at them. It fell just before them, the glass breaking and the liquid slightly splattering their shoes.

"It's not going to work, Leo," Paige said.

"They turned you?" Coop asked.

"Nope," Piper breathed out. "Worse."

"What do you mean, worse?" Leo wondered.

"Here, throw this up," Piper said, handing Tyler who was closest to her an empty potion vial. He did as he was asked and Piper flicked her hands while the vial was still in the air. Nothing happened and everyone watched as the bottle hit the floor and shattered. "They bound our powers. I swear, I'm gonna save them and then I'm gonna kill 'em!"

Phoebe sat down by Coop. "They had the exact same plan we did. Bind the others powers so they can't interfere. What's worse is that they have already completely taken over the Underworld; every demon answers to them and we were continuously attacked as we tried to get to them. Oh, and Chase is dead, so you don't have to worry about him anymore. Apparently, they orbed him into a volcano. Because that's not going to affect their karma," she commented sarcastically.

"Then how did you get back here if you don't have your powers?" Angie asked.

"Chris thoughtfully orbed us back," Billie said. "No offense, Piper, but right now, I kinda hate your kids."

"Don't worry," Piper grumbled. "Right now, I'm feeling the same way.

"So what do we do now?" Henry threw the question out to the entire room.

Tyler looked up from where he had been staring at the broken glass on the floor. "It's up to us."

"Baby Boy?" Caleb asked, standing up. He was a little worried about the youngest of their group. No, Tyler wasn't weak but they all felt that they had to watch out for him and right now, he had a steely look on his face; a look Caleb wasn't used to seeing.

"Look, Cay. Maybe this is a part of our destiny. I mean, we got sent here so the Charmed Ones could save us. Since they can't save Piper's kids, maybe we're meant to. You know, give something back. Cosmic payback, whatever. Besides the fact that I love Mel and I'm not going to let her stay evil!"

Phoebe and Paige had small smiles on their faces and Piper stared at Tyler. "Well, at least something good is coming out of this disaster. What's your plan?"

Tyler frowned. "I don't know. But we'll save her, Wyatt, and Chris. Whether they like it or not."

"You know, Mel is only a witch," Henry broke in.

"Yeah, sweetie, we know that." Paige squeezed his hand while rolling her eyes. "What's your point?"

"If you'd let me finish… Anyway, Wyatt and Chris are both part whitelighters and they have powers Mel doesn't. But Leo was mortal when you two had Mel. So…"

Paige, understanding his point now, finished. "Maybe she'll be the easiest to change back."

"And maybe we could change her back without magic. Appeal to her non-magical side," Piper continued.

Phoebe finished the train of thought that was jumping from person to person. "And since they're connected like we are," Phoebe said, motioning to her sisters, "Wyatt and Chris should turn back too. We have to challenge her. Make Mel choose between the two things she wants most."

"What two things?" Billie questioned.

Angela was the next to stand up and jump in with her own idea. "Make her choose between her new freedom and being equal with her brothers and being with her family, friends…Tyler. Set up a situation where she absolutely has to choose."

Reid stood next to her and slipped an arm around her waist. They both turned slightly to look at Tyler. "And I think I know what the situation should be," he commented.

Caleb clapped a hand on Tyler's shoulder. Pogue looked at Tyler's face and laughed. "Looks like you're bait, Baby Boy. You cool with that?"

"It'll be dangerous, Tyler. We're not even sure if this will work. It could end badly," Leo warned.

Tyler raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "No, it's perfect. Make her choose between saving me or killing me. This might work."

"I know Mel," Angie said. "She's my best friend and no matter how evil she might be, she isn't capable of killing someone, especially someone she loves. She'll save you."

"So, what exactly do we do?" Caleb asked. Everyone fell silent as they thought about the plan. It had to be good or Tyler would be in danger.


	11. Chapter 11

**Don't own it, review if you want. Thanks to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, etc. One chapter left**

Chapter 11: The Final Attack

"Baby Boy, do you have any idea where you're going?" Pogue hissed. He and his brothers had been wandering around the Underworld while Tyler tried to retrace the path to where they had first seen Chase. They figured that was where Mel and her brothers had gone. Almira had orbed them down here and wished them luck and then left them. The theory was, if they succeeded, Wyatt or Chris would orb them back. If they didn't…well, they were trying to not think about that.

"Do you wanna lead? It's not like I was paying attention to how we got there. I was kinda busy running for my life!" Tyler complained. He was feeling bad that they had just been wandering around but he really couldn't help it. Piper had said that she and her sisters still get lost and while they were still actively fighting demons, they were down here practically every week. The Underworld all looked the same.

"Look, if it's our destiny to face them, eventually we'll stumble onto that cavern you were talking about," Caleb put in.

Tyler suddenly stopped. "Wait. Wait. This looks familiar. I think we're on the right track."

"Look down, dude." Reid said, pointing toward the ground.

"Oh." There were footsteps in the dirt. The prints matched the Sons'. "I guess we went in a circle." Tyler sighed and frowned.

"Well, let's keep going." Caleb gave Tyler a little shove to start walking again.

Reid said to Pogue, "I've just added another outcome. They kill us, we save them, we kill Mel, or we starve to death."

Pogue groaned. "Reid," Caleb said through gritted teeth. Tyler was glaring at the blond Son.

"What?! What are you guys planning?" Tyler questioned angrily.

"What are you talking about, man? What plan?"

"The options," Tyler prompted.

Reid ticked them off using his fingers. "We die, we save them, we starve to death, or we kill…oh."

"Oh is right. What. The. Hell! You're planning on killing my girlfriend?" Tyler yelled.

"Tyler, it's not like that. We just…"

"You just what, Caleb? How would you act if it was Sarah? Or Kate, Pogue? Or Angela, Reid?"

The three older Sons looked at each other. They would hate it. Even Reid would and he still wasn't sure what exactly he had with Angela. "Tyler." Reid said, stepping toward his best friend. "We would hate it. I know that you don't like it. But if it comes down to it, if we can't save them, what are we supposed to do? Let them destroy the world? I don't think so."

Pogue tried to explain to Tyler while Caleb stood in silence, his eyes downcast. "We knew you wouldn't agree. Reid's right; if it was our girl we'd hate it too and fight about it. That's why we kept it from you and it's as a last resort anyway."

Tyler scoffed. "You're supposed to be my brothers. Have my back. Not stab it."

"That's not what we're trying to do, Baby Boy," Caleb said. "But if we have to, one of us will take out Mel. It might be the best way to save the world, if you're unable to reach her."

"I won't let you. You can follow me and try to get through to her yourselves but even if she stays evil, the last thing Mel will see is me defending her. Against you if I have to." Tyler shot one last glare at his friends and went to turn his back on them.

"Tyler!" Caleb exclaimed. He couldn't believe he was acting like this. Yeah, he knew Tyler wouldn't like it but Tyler was nothing if not sensible and Caleb thought that the youngest Son would eventually realize the necessity of their back up plan; not turn on his brothers.

"That's so sweet!" The Sons all whirled to the side to see Mel standing in the mouth of the nearby cavern. Turned out they were closer to Mel and her brothers than they thought, as in they had passed the entrance at least twice but it had been hidden by magic. Wyatt and Chris stood just behind her. "You want to protect me even though I'm probably going to kill you. I guess it really is love." She smirked and walked backwards, passing between her brothers who followed her. "Why don't you boys come on in and we can figure this whole thing out."

Tyler shot a look at his brothers and followed Mel in, his hand reaching into his pocket to clutch the potion he had there. Caleb and the others followed him into the cavern and they stood in the line behind him.

"Mel, come back. You don't want or need this. Everything you and your brothers are is back at the Manor with your family. You're good and deep down, you know that. Come back to me, your family," Tyler started talking.

Chris rolled his eyes. "That's so…sick. He's actually begging you to renounce your new nature and go back to that pathetic life we had, fighting demons. Let us fill you in, boys. The real life is here and it is great." Pogue was looking around the cavern as Chris spoke. "What are you looking for?" Chris demanded of Pogue.

The long haired Son looked at Chris. "Nothing. Just looking." _**I found it**_ he thought to Caleb.

_**Good**_, he thought back. _**At least one thing will go right. Keep an eye on the bottle.**_

"I'm not going back, Tyler. We're not going back. This is where we want to be and if you can't accept that then we have a problem."

"Then we have a problem, Mel. I love you but I'm not going to let either you or your brothers unite the Underworld." At the exact same time, each Son withdrew a potion bottle from his pocket and threw it at Mel, the most vulnerable. Before the vials could reach her, Wyatt TK'd them away from her. Mel shook her head in disappointment.

"That's not going to work," Wyatt commented. "The Charmed Ones tried it and failed. What makes you think you'd be able to do it? I really hope that wasn't your only plan because that wasn't our last one." Wyatt closed his eyes in concentration and summoned a figure Tyler was familiar with. It was the genie, the one who had changed Wyatt and his siblings evil. "For my first wish, I wish the Sons of Ipswich were evil and would join us in our quest for Power."

_**Pogue, now!**_ Caleb had yelled into Pogue's mind as soon as the genie had appeared. Pogue dived out of the way and went after the genie bottle, grabbing it before the genie could finish his wish. The colorful figure stopped mid-wave and looked at Pogue. He flashed in front of the long-haired Son and knelt. "Your wish, master?"

Pogue drew back in confusion. "Uh…go back in the bottle." The genie turned into smoke and filled the bottle. "Got it!"

"Reid!" Caleb yelled.

"On it!" Reid threw a punch at Chris, catching him off guard. His fist landed solidly on Chris's jaw and the Halliwell witch stumbled back. The two fought each other, both forgetting about their magic and just throwing punches and wrestling on the ground. Caleb, on the other hand, Used to throw his magic at Wyatt. He had discussed it with the other Sons; since Caleb had his father's Power as well, he decided to be the one to take on Wyatt. Both Wyatt and Caleb were throwing energy balls at each other.

Mel smiled at Tyler. "I guess it's us, huh?" She kicked out at Tyler, forcing him back. Before he could react, she slapped him across the face. "C'mon, Baby Boy," she said mockingly. "Be a man. Fight back." Mel drew an athame out of her back pocket. "Here," she said, throwing it on the ground in front of him. "An advantage because I know you won't attack me." Tyler bent down and picked it up. He held it uncertainly in front of him. He didn't want to use it on her either. She continued to force him back, until he hit a wall. She stood in front of him. "You are pathetic, Tyler. It's too bad, really. We could have been great together."

Pogue looked on in worry. His job had been to get a hold of the genie and distract Wyatt, Mel, or Chris if possible but the other Sons had volunteered to fight them. Of course, Tyler said he would get through to Mel, Caleb thought he was the closest in Power to Wyatt which is why he chose him, and Reid was just spoiling for a fight, which is why he was taking on the dark haired, temperamental Chris. As far as he could tell, Tyler was in the most danger; Reid and Caleb were actually holding their own. "Tyler," he said loudly. "It's gotta be done! It's you or her, man."

Tyler breathed deeply, looking at the girl in front of him. She stared back at him. "Your move," she said. "What are you going to do? Gonna go grow a pair?"

At that remark, Tyler got mad. He was tired of people implying that he wasn't really a man because he wouldn't always act on his impulses and thought things through. Catching Mel by surprise, he grabbed a hold of her arms and spun so she was pinned against the wall. Holding her wrists in one hand over her head, Tyler brought the athame to her throat. "I don't want to hurt you. Let me help you turn back, Mel. Please."

She pursed her lips and looked at her brothers who had finally bested the Sons. Wyatt had Caleb backed against a wall, Excalibur pointed at his stomach. Reid was lying face down in the dirt, his head bleeding. Chris had a foot planted in his back so Reid couldn't get up and Chris was breathing heavily. She looked at Tyler again. "Nahh. Do it. I dare you."

Tyler willed his hand to push harder. Deep down, very deep down, he knew it needed to be done. He hated it and didn't want to do it but… The knife scratched Mel's throat and a thin ribbon of blood trailed down. Tyler's stomach rolled and he pulled away, releasing Mel. "I can't do it. I don't care if you kill me but I can't hurt you." He dropped the knife and looked at Pogue. "I'm sorry." He looked back at Mel. "I love you." Mel shook her head.

"Enough of this," Wyatt said. Holding Excalibur with one hand still pointed at Caleb's stomach, and motioned with his other hand. A nearby athame lifted in the air and flew toward Tyler.

"Tyler!" Caleb yelled. Pogue yelled out for the genie, thinking maybe he could make a wish to save Tyler.

"NO!" Mel said. Tyler turned around to face the knife that was level with his heart, his face paling as he saw the knife about 4 feet from hitting him. Mel had frozen the athame.

"Melinda, what are you doing? They aren't going to join us; therefore we must take care of them." Wyatt broke the knife out of her freeze and moved it again. Putting both hands up, Mel froze the knife again.

_**She's using her witch powers. That means she's good still, deep down. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to tap into them.**_ Tyler thought to his brothers.

Reid mentally groaned and lifted his head slightly. _**Guys? Wha?**_

Keeping an eye on the knife, Tyler thought back _**Reid, you're okay! Look, I'm…I'm sorry. All of you, I'm sorry.**_

_**Baby Boy, right now, you kinda have more things to worry about then apologizing. Wyatt is trying to kill you!**_ Caleb's thought echoed in Tyler's head.

"Melinda, let go!" Wyatt pushed at the knife and it quivered in the air. He dropped Excalibur to concentrate on the knife. Mel concentrated just as hard, barely holding on to the knife.

Everyone watched as the knife moved forward, inch by inch. Mel was unable to freeze it any more; now she was just focusing on slowing it down as much as possible. With an extra shove of power, Wyatt won the match and the knife shot at Tyler. "NO!" Mel yelled and she moved her hands. The knife fell out of the air and Mel stared at her hands. She had just blown up something. Well, she hadn't actually blown it up but she hadn't frozen it or tapped into Wyatt's telekinesis, so that was the only option left. She had received another power.

She met Tyler's eyes, horror in her own as she really realized what was going on. She shook her head. "I'm so sorry!" Tyler watched as the girl he loved was surrounded by a white light. Glancing around quickly, he saw that the same thing was happening to Wyatt and Chris. The lights cleared and Mel, back to her normal self, collapsed onto the floor. Tyler looked at her, his eyes swimming with emotion.

Caleb and Pogue ran over to Reid and helped him up. As with most head wounds, his wasn't actually that bad, he just had a small cut on his forehead, but it was bleeding a lot. "Wyatt," Chris said. Wyatt shook his head.

"I can't believe what we did."

"You can make up for a little bit by healing me," Reid said groggily. His head was killing him. Wyatt joined their group and held a hand over the cut, a warm golden glow coming from his hand. "Thanks." The five turned to watch as Tyler approached Mel.

He bent down and sat on the ground. "Hey," he said lifting her chin up so he could meet her eyes. His heart hurt as he took note of the tears running down her face. He brushed them away with his thumb. "It's okay."

"How is it okay? I was going to kill you! You were trying to kill me! I-oh, my Goddess, I was going to take over the Underworld. I helped kill Chase. I-"

Tyler pulled her forward and kissed her, effectively silencing her. He could taste the salt from her tears and his eyes dropped a few also. He pulled back a little bit and looked deep into her eyes. "We'll figure it out." He stood up and pulled Mel to her feet. Slipping an arm around her waist, they walked over to the rest of the group.

Chris looked around. He was shocked by what had happened also. He looked at his siblings. "We're gonna have to do a lot of cleaning to our karma to make up for this."

"We'll do it," Wyatt said while Mel gave a shaky laugh. "Let's go home."

"Wait, the Book," Mel said. Chris orbed it to him. "Personal gain?"

"It's not going to make our karma any worse right now," Chris commented.

"Okay, let's go." Wyatt orbed out with Mel, Tyler, and Reid. Caleb and Pogue, who was still holding the genie bottle, hitched a ride with Chris.

* * *

Piper looked up as the younger generation orbed into the attic. "My babies," she said, managing, as only a mother can, to enfold her three children into her arms. Leo completed the family hug. After a few seconds of complete contentment, Piper pulled out and frowned at them. "A few things: 1) I'm glad you're back. 2) You're grounded. 3) I love you. 4) If you ever do that again, I swear to the Goddess that I will kick your asses. 5) You're grounded. 6) Don't ever bind our powers again. And did I mention you're grounded?"

"A couple of times," Leo said. "I think they get the point."

"Good. Now, could you please return our powers?" Piper asked. Paige and Phoebe nodded in agreement. When they didn't have their magic, it felt like a limb was missing from their bodies.

"Mel, you're the one who cast the spell," Wyatt reminded his sister.

"Oh, right. Um…Give back powers to the sisters three, as I will, so mote it be." Lights surrounded the Charmed Ones. Piper, grinning, blew up a nearby lamp and then froze the pieces before they could scatter.

"Piper," Paige said, her tone a little disapproving.

"What? Just making sure." Everyone gave a small laugh at that. Mel dropped her head on Tyler's shoulder, glad to be back home and good again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sadly, I don't own it except for characters you don't recognize. This is the last chapter, so I'm sorry it's so late but I wanted it to be good! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed (you know who you are...you guys helped a lot with making me want to keep writing!), read my story, put it on their favorite list, or alert list. Reviews would be really nice! I think next up will be a couple of one-shots and I have an idea for a BtVS, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested!**

Chapter 12: A Charmed Covenant

Mel woke up early the morning after. She lay in bed, thinking about what had happened. She had almost taken over the Underworld, she had taken possession of her mom's and aunts' powers…she had been willing to kill Tyler to keep him from turning her back to good. That was the bad and it was majorly bad. Now for the good: Tyler had saved her and her brothers and because of her heightened emotions and her love for Tyler, she had gained two new powers: empathy and, like her mom, an advancement of her original power. She could now blow things up as well as freeze them, so that was pretty cool. And she was completely in love with an amazing guy.

She grabbed her phone off of the table by her bed and flipped it open. Scrolling to the calendar, she sat straight up and looked at her alarm clock. She was late! Flipping her blue comforter off of her body and onto the floor, she jumped on and yanked on some clean clothes, barely thinking about matching them. Luckily she ended up with blue jeans and a plain black shirt. She ran a brush through her hair quickly and then ran out of the room, bumping into Chris on her way to the bathroom.

"Aren't you late?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah! Kinda why I'm in a rush!" She slammed the door shut on her brother and quickly brushed her teeth. Shoving the door open again, catching Chris by surprise, Mel rand down the stairs and into the kitchen. Piper looked up from the newspaper, a cup of coffee cupped in her hands. "You're late," she said, raising her eyebrows. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."

"No way! I mean, this is the most important day of the year…at least for me. But, are we still doing something? I mean, aren't I grounded?"

"Yes, you and your brothers are both grounded, even though the three of you are adults, so technically we can't really ground you but since you still live here, you follow our rules. So we'll start your punishment tomorrow." Mel laughed. This was something she had heard pretty often once Wyatt and Chris turned eighteen. She turned around to see her dad in the doorway, still wearing rumpled pajamas. "After all, it's a holiday and you shouldn't be punished." He walked over to Mel and she smiled at him, perfectly calm on the outside, cheering on the inside. He dropped a kiss on her head, "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Dad. So then, are we still having the party?"

"Of course we are. The family has been all invited and everyone is coming. The normal cake?" Piper asked. She knew her children well. Wyatt liked vanilla cake with mixed icing, Chris liked vanilla cake with chocolate icing while Mel liked…

"Yep! Chocolate cake, chocolate icing. Calorie central." Mel paused. Making a face, she asked the question that was on her mind. "Umm…do you know where Tyler and the guys are?"

Both Piper and Leo shook their heads. Piper had told Caleb last night that so long as they were careful and asked first, he could drive their car since they didn't have any of theirs. She felt the Sons had earned it after saving her kids. Caleb had asked that morning if they could use the car but she hadn't thought to ask where they were going.

Wyatt and Chris walked in and Mel asked them the same question. Wyatt was the one who answered. "Tyler said he needed to think about some stuff and there was something he needed to get. The other guys went with him. Something about picking up someone up at the airport?"

Piper remembered. "Oh, yes, that's right. Caleb's and Pogue's girlfriends are coming for a visit," Piper said. "I forgot."

Mel took in a deep breath. "Think about stuff?" she repeated, wincing. "I hope almost killing him didn't scare him off."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Chris said. "I don't think he's going to give up. He might just need some time."

"Chris is right, sweetie," Leo said. "Your mom almost killed me a few times or I died for her and we're still together."

"Well, that's reassuring," Mel said sarcastically. Someone knocked on the back door and Mel looked at her watch. "That should be Angie." She walked past her parents, meaning to open the door. "I hope you're right about Tyler." She opened the door and Angie walked in.

The blonde witch smiled at the Halliwell family. "Happy Birthday, Mel. Hey guys. We're heading out to the mall. Our usual birthday girl celebration."

"Okay, well have fun and be careful," Piper commented. "Be back around 3ish so you can help set up for the party." She winked at Angela and Angela winked back.

"K, bye Mom," Mel said. She and Angie left for the mall.

* * *

"What time is it?" Caleb asked, looking out the airport window.

"Five minutes after the time you last asked me so…" Tyler looked at his watch. "11:25. The plane is supposed to be here a quarter till. I told you we got here early."

"But of course they can't wait, Baby Boy. They're whipped." Reid made a sarcastic whipping noise and then raised an eyebrow at the two older Sons when they scowled at him. "Are you going to deny it?"

"Aren't you the one who is in love with a certain blond witch but don't even have the balls to actually admit it? What was it you said, "I don't know what it is but whatever we have, it's different?" Can you be anymore lame, dude?" Pogue shot back.

"He's got you there, Reid." Tyler said.

"Yeah, well at least my chick didn't try to kill me."

Tyler stopped grinning. "Dude, not cool." He punched Reid on the arm. He was trying his hardest to not what happened to Mel mess him up or their relationship; he didn't need Reid throwing it in his face.

Reid moved to punch Tyler back when Caleb broke in. "Stop it you two. We're all in love with amazing girls and we would do anything for them. Just leave it at that."

"Well, that's certainly smart and spoken like a true leader. I told you, Kate, we have total control over our boys." Caleb's and Pogue's face lit up as they turned around. Standing behind the group of Sons were Kate and Sarah, their suitcases behind them.

Kate threw herself into Pogue's arm, snaking her arms around his neck, his hands settling on her waist. She tipped her head up and he kissed her.

Caleb held his hand out for Sarah and she took it, a small smile on both of their faces. "Hi," Caleb said, his little smile growing into a larger grin until he was grinning foolishly. She just smiled back.

"Hey, the plane got in early. So, me and Kate…Kate…KATE!" At Sarah's half yell, Kate and Pogue broke apart and Kate turned around in his arms so she was facing the group, her face slightly red. Pogue just smirked and rested his chin on her head. Sarah shook her head while the boys laughed. "Me and Kate can't wait to meet the two girls that stole the last two Sons of Ipswich. You should have heard it. Kira was going on and on about how she was going to snag one of you before we all left for college. We shut her up by showing her a picture of…Melinda and Angela?" She said questioningly, looking to Tyler and Reid for confirmation. They nodded. "Melinda and Angela. Then she and Aaron got in a big fight and broke up."

"Of course they got back together in a couple of days because no one would date either of them and now they're kinda stuck together," Kate finished.

Reid tapped his fingers on his chin, a small smirk on his face. "Man, I wish Aaron was here. I'm running out of money."

"Yeah, and he can't beat Chris or Wyatt at pool so that doesn't work." Reid took a swipe at Tyler who ducked out of the way and then looked at his watch. "Hey, we're supposed to be back at the Manor at about 1:30 to help set up for Mel's party and we still need to stop at the mall so I can pick up her present."

"Okay, let's go." Caleb and Pogue grabbed their girlfriends' suitcases and led the way back to Piper's SUV.

"What are you getting her?" Kate wondered. She knew that whatever it was, it would be really nice. Pogue had always gone to him when he wanted to get her jewelry. Tyler just had that ability to pick out really nice jewelry.

"A locket her brothers told me she's been eyeing for a couple of months. I'm getting it inscribed too. A triquetra on the front for her family, the date we met and our initials in the middle, and," he said the next part in a rush, "my family symbol on the back."

"Really? Dude, that's…" Reid trailed off. The Sons had made a pact when they each became teenagers. If any of them really fell for a girl, they were going to give that girl a piece of jewelry with their family symbol. It was supposed to mean that they were going to marry that girl. Caleb had given Sarah a bracelet with the Danvers symbol as the catch before they had left but he hadn't told the other Sons. Pogue was waiting to get Kate something; he was having problems finding the right piece of jewelry, something he never thought would be a problem.

"Serious. Yeah, I know. But, I'm serious about her and I want to be with Mel. Whether she kills me or not."

"Alright, well let's go get it." Caleb said. He turned the car on and he pulled out the airport parking lot, heading for the nearby mall.

* * *

"I don't know, Ang. I mean, I almost killed him last night. What if he can't get over it? I don't know if I could but I really don't wanna lose him. I'm not sure what to do."

"Mel, the boy is completely in love with you. Yeah, you almost killed him but he couldn't kill you. That really says something. Now," she said, handing Mel an outfit, "try this on. If you like, it's your birthday present from me. If not, I'll pick something else out. But I am buying you something girly. We're going off to college in a couple of months. It's time to expand your wardrobe."

Mel rolled her eyes and went into the changing room. Pulling on the outfit, she said "You know, most people go to college to expand their horizons or whatever, not their wardrobe"

"We're already well expanded in that part. I mean, we're witches. There isn't anything we can't do."

"Haha, you know there are rules. Anyway, I'm just fine with my wardrobe the way it is. And I really don't think Tyler minds it either. That is, if I didn't scare him off."

"Oh, would you shut up about scaring off Tyler? Like I said, he's completely in love with you. Now, would you get out here? I wanna see that outfit. I bet it's hot!"

Mel opened the door and stood in front of the three way mirror, Angela standing behind her. "See, I told you. You're hot in that. It's the perfect color for you."

Mel looked critically at her reflection. Angie had picked out a simple blue sundress. There were small white lines crisscrossing throughout the dress, creating an intricate geometric design. She hadn't liked it on the rack; it had kinda reminded her of Dorothy's dress from _The Wizard of Oz_, but now that she was wearing it… "I love it. Thanks, Ang."

"You're quite welcome, considering it's your birthday. Now, let's go get shoes and accessories!" Mel quickly changed back into her clothes and they left to go buy the dress.

After a little bit more shopping, the girls were on their way to the food court when they passed the jewelry store that held the necklace Mel wanted prisoner. She looked in the window display where the locket was normally shown. She turned to Angela, a look of disappointment on her face. "It's gone. Someone must have bought it. That sucks! I was a couple weeks away from having enough to buy it myself."

"I'm sorry, Mel. I knew you really wanted that necklace. But you know, a few people knew that you wanted that necklace. Maybe you'll get it tonight at your party? C'mon, let's go; I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I guess." Mel sighed and sent one last look of wistfulness at the store window and hurried to catch up to Ang. They got their food, Angela getting Chinese and Melinda getting Mexican, and grabbed a table.

"So, what time are you actually supposed to bring me back to the house?" Mel asked.

_Uh-oh_, Angela thought. "What do you mean? You heard what she said; your mom wants us back around 3 so we can help set up."

"Please, I know you guys are planning on a surprise party. Which really can't happen if the surprise party is on the same day that we set the date for a couple of months ago, but that's my mom. I know the party is starting earlier. So, what time are we supposed to come back?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. Your mom was going to surprise you but we're supposed to really be back around 2:30, so it's only a half hour earlier than what you had wanted. Act surprised anyway."

"I will. Hey…that blonde guy over there looks like Reid. I thought they were picking up Sarah and Kate at the airport?"

Angela twisted around in her seat, scanning the tables behind her. "Yeah, or at least that's what Reid told me last night before I left. Who are you talking about? That guy right there?" Angela said, motioning with her hand. "That's not…that's Reid. I can't believe him! "

The blonde boy in question was sitting at a table, positioned so that all the girls could really see was his profile and that of a girl next to him. "They're sitting awfully close," Angela said, turning back around to face Melinda. Her eyes were a little bit watery. "I-I thought we…"

"Oh, Angela, I'm so sorry. Maybe it's innocent and that girl is just a friend."

Angie shook her head. "Get real, Mel. Guys like him aren't just friends with a girl."

"I'm just friends with him."

"That's because you and his best friend are in love. Look, I know we still have more shopping to do but do you think we could go somewhere else. I really don't wanna see that."

"Yeah, no, that's fine. We can go to the Strip. All the same stores anyways."

The girls got up and left, taking their food with them.

* * *

"Oh, that's such a beautiful house!" Sarah exclaimed. "Hold on, let me take a picture. You guys go stand on the front porch." She pushed them all onto the front porch and quickly snapped a picture.

"But you're not in the picture," Caleb pointed out.

Sarah waved it off. "That's alright, I'll get more later!" The door swung open as she ended her sentence, revealing Wyatt, Chris standing behind him.

"See, I told you Wyatt. I heard girls talking and of course it couldn't have been Angela and TInk; they're not supposed to be back yet." Chris shoved his shoulder into his older brother. "You owe me."

Wyatt scowled and handed Chris a single dollar bill. How he wished he had premonitions that way he could finally win one of these bets. Or he could do the smart thing and stop betting but whatever.

Reid walked up the steps, pushing past the brothers, the others following behind him. "Do you guys bet on everything?" he wondered. Turning around, he quickly introduced Sarah and Kate to the brothers and then ran up stairs, Tyler following him.

Chris and Wyatt shook Kate's and Sarah's hands and took their suitcases. After they had gone upstairs, Kate and Sarah looked at each other and giggled.

"Wow," Kate said.

Caleb and Pogue looked down at their girlfriends and frowned. Each girl reassured that their respective boyfriend was hotter than Mel's brothers but knew that they would be taking lots of pictures with the Halliwell male witches. The two Sons showed the girls to the kitchen where they were greeted warmly by Piper and her sisters who had come over and then put immediately to work while Piper rushed upstairs to help Reid and Tyler wrap Mel's presents. Goddess knew her sons couldn't wrap presents still; she had no reason to believe the younger men could. They had less than an hour to go before Angela would bring Mel back for the surprise party.

* * *

Angela and Mel finished their shopping. Mel was wearing a new outfit that Angela had forced her to get; not the sundress but a pair dark blue skinny jeans, a pair of heeled boots, and a fancy shirt. She had matched it with some jewelry, but nothing really fancy. They were both walking toward the Manor. They weren't carrying any bags though; they had left them in Angie's car.

Angela ran up the steps, Mel following her. Mel opened the door and walked in, saying loudly "Gee. I wonder why it's so dark?"

Piper turned the corner, scowling at Angela. "She wasn't supposed to find out. Billie, your daughter can't keep a secret!"

"Mom, I appreciate it but if you want to do a surprise party, you shouldn't have it on the same day as the day I had picked a couple of months ago." She hugged her mom. "Thanks anyway though."

Piper sighed. "I guess I should just stop trying. No one in this family ever falls for a surprise party. Everyone, you can come out! She knows."

Mel's entire family (excluding the ghosts) piled into the hallway, wishing Mel a happy birthday. Tyler and his friends were hanging out in the back, a little bit away from the rest of the family. After a few moments of commotion, the majority of the Halliwells left to get food, leaving Angela, Mel, the Sons and Kate and Sarah in the back.

Tyler smiled at Mel and she smiled back. She figured that, since he smiled, he wasn't too scared of her. Tyler opened his mouth to introduce Kate and Sarah, but Angela interrupted him. "You know what? I'm hungry. I'll talk to you guys later." She left the hallway.

Reid watched her walk out and frowned. "What's up her ass?"

Mel sighed in frustration. "We saw you at the mall, sitting pretty close to some girl. So, yeah, she's upset you idiot!"

Reid scoffed. "I wouldn't do that to her…well, actually I would if it was any other girl, but I didn't do that to Angela. What girl?"

Sarah raised her hand. "Umm, I think I might be that girl. I'm Sarah, Caleb's girlfriend. This is Kate," she said motioning toward the dark-skinned girl.

Mel bit her lip and grimaced. "Uh-oh. We, uh, we didn't know that." She turned to Reid. "Sorry. You might want to go talk to her."

"You think?" Reid said sarcastically. Sure, he expected he would really piss her off at some point, but let her get mad at him for something he actually did." Reid left, trying to find the blonde witch who frustrated him to no end and yet made him incredibly happy.

Mel shot an apologetic smile at the two girls and apologized again. Laughing, the two girls told her it was okay. The group talked for a bit, and then Caleb, Pogue, Sarah, and Kate left to go get food. Tyler held out his hand to Mel and she took it. "Come on," he said, leading her outside.

"Tyler, what's going on?"

"Nothing," he said. "I just wanna talk to you in private." He lead her to the backyard and motioned for her to sit down on one of the little benches Piper had put back there. They were surrounded by the flowers and herbs Piper had decided to plant once they had defeated the ultimate evil and had a break from all the demon fighting and had kept it up over the years.

Tyler broke off a flower (he had no idea what it was) and gave it to Mel. "Don't tell my mom you did that; she'll vanquish you." Mel laughed.

Tyler grinned and sat down next to Mel who smelled the flower. Pulling her hand down, the youngest Son looked the brunette witch in the eyes. She bit her lip in concern. "Tyler…"

"Wait, let me go first, okay?" Mel nodded. Tyler took a deep breath in as he thought about what he was going to say. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not a little freaked out over what happened yesterday. We both almost killed each other, proving that our magic can be a curse."

Mel interrupted. "Tyler, it's not a curse. It's a gift…it's just not always a good gift. There's good and bad and I know that," Tyler raised an eyebrow at her. She flushed and muttered sorry, letting him continue.

"Our magic can be a curse, but it can also be a gift," he said, amending what he was going to say a little so she wouldn't interrupt him again with a rant about magic. "But I think the good definitely outweighs the bad. I blame everything that happened on Chase, but at the same time, I'm also a little glad that he came into our lives because it brought Sarah and Caleb together, made Pogue and Kate stronger, calmed Reid down a bit and introduced him to Angie, someone I think is perfect for him. He made us meet and I'm so grateful for that. I don't think I could imagine my life without you now. I guess what I'm trying to say, Mel, is that I think I've already seen you at your worst and I'm sticking around…if you let me." Tyler finished his speech a bit uncertainly. After all, he knew what he felt for Mel and thought she felt the same but he wasn't one hundred percent sure.

"Can I talk now?" Mel asked. Tyler nodded. "I feel the exact same and I am so glad that I didn't scare you off. Tyler, I love you."

He caught her hands in his and smiled. "Good. I love you too," he said, kissing her. Pulling back after a couple of seconds, Tyler reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. "I want to give you your present out here, that way your brothers don't kill me, although they are the ones who told me about it. They would be fine with it, unless they knew what it meant."

Mel opened the box. Nestled on ice blue silk was the locket she had looked at and wanted so much. It was a simple circle attached to a delicate silver chain. It wasn't really that fancy, besides that it was silver, and Mel couldn't explain why she wanted it so much, but something about the necklace had drawn her in. Etched on the front in tiny lines was a triquetra. She looked up at Tyler. "Thank you!"

He smiled. "Look at all of it." She opened it and saw the date they had first met and their initials were inscribed. Turning it over gently, her eyes filled a little when she saw his family symbol on the back.

"So you'll always be close to my heart?" She asked. It sounded corny, but it described how she felt exactly.

"That, and," Tyler took another deep breath, "it's a proposal, of sorts. Me and the guys decided a while ago that if we ever met the one, before we would actually propose, we would give her a piece of jewelry with our family symbol on it. Kinda like a promise ring."

Overcome with emotion, Mel kissed him and they held each other close. "I accept," Mel murmured against his lips and shuddered when he kissed her deeply. "Help me put it on?"

Mel turned her back to Tyler and lifted her hair out of the way while he slipped the necklace over her head and latched it, positioning it so his family symbol rested against her chest.

In the house where the young couple couldn't see them, Piper was learning against Leo. "I think they just got engaged," she said. Leo didn't respond. "Leo?" He was frozen but she hadn't done and highly doubted Mel had since she was preoccupied.

"Piper, there's an angel of destiny in the living room, wanting to talk to the boys," Paige said, sticking her head out of the living room. Piper rolled her eyes and called out for Mel and Tyler to come back in.

* * *

Reid, not knowing how to explain it, knew instinctively that Angie would have gone up to the attic to get away from him. He ran up the stairs and forced open the door that she was holding shut and looking at her, tapped his fingers on his chin.

Angela frowned at him. "I really don't want to talk to you, so if you don't mind…" She went to walk past him but he caught her arm and spun her around. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

Reid kissed her and held her closer when she tried to push him away. He let his eyes bleed black when he sensed that she was going to use telekinesis on him, stopping her attempt. Groaning to herself, Angela gave up on struggling and stood there, unresponsive.

Lifting his head slightly, Reid cupped her face and, punctuating each word with a soft kiss, said "I did not cheat on you. That girl you saw with me is Caleb's girlfriend and means nothing to me. I'm completely in love with you, you crazy psycho witch.

"Crazy and psycho mean the same thing, dumbass," Angela pointed out. She was still pissed but now it was mostly at herself. She had almost ruined another relationship.

"Well, you're so insane that it deserves to be mentioned twice. Why would I be interested in any girl when you have enough personalities for one guy to handle?" Reid asked, teasing her. He was still kissing her between every few words.

"Say it again," Angela commanded letting his comment go, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

"I love you," Reid repeated, pushing her against the attic door, mirroring their stance from the alley behind P3.

"I love you too," she said. They were still holding each other, kissing, when knocked on the door and Pogue's voice rang out.

"Reid, I hate to interrupt, but we kinda need you and Angela downstairs.

"Fuck off," Reid shouted, lifting his mouth from Angela's for the second it took to yell at Pogue.

"Reid," came Caleb's voice. "This is important."

Reid groaned and hit his head on the door. Pulling Angela out of the way, he opened the door and faced his brothers who both had amused looks on their faces. "You guys majorly suck!" Reid glared at their back as they left, laughing.

Angela pulled his attention back to her by grabbing his hand and putting herself in front of him. "There's always later," she said with a wicked smile. Reid's eyes darkened with desire as Angela led him back downstairs and into the dining room where there was a guy in a gold robe.

* * *

Piper introduced him as the angel of destiny and he surveyed the Sons of Ipswich and then included the Halliwell family in his gaze.

"I promise to keep this brief," he said, "so you can get back to your celebration. Both groups have done good for the magical community. The Charmed Ones have already received their reward, a life relatively free of demons. Your children won't have to deal with the grief you three did during your battle against evil. However, I'm here for the Sons of Ipswich. For the good you four have done, even against one who should have been called brother, the curse has been lifted. For though your power comes from the Hollow and is not good, nor is it entirely evil. You have proved yourselves worthy of keeping the Power, but no longer will you age and neither will your descendents." He frowned a little, thinking he had gone through that a little fast. "That's it." He disappeared in a flurry of gold orbs.

Everyone stared at where he had been standing in confusion and then slowly realization dawned on their faces. While the Halliwells, Sarah, and Kate were purely glad to know the Sons wouldn't be punished for something that wasn't their fault, each of the four Sons were glad but felt something else.

Caleb was glad he wouldn't have to leave Sarah like his father had left his mother. His gaze warmed when he looked at the blonde standing beside him.

Pogue was thinking of all the places in the world he could take Kate now (she loved to travel) and for free. First stop, Paris.

Reid felt a small smirk creep across his mouth as he thought of the fun he and Angela could have later using magic.

Tyler looked at Mel and just felt gratefulness in his heart at the thought that he would be able to protect, love, and stay with her for as long as they both lived. As if answering his thoughts, Mel squeezed his hand.

* * *

Up there, above the earth, the clouds, and the Elders, three women smiled as they watched the Halliwells and their friends party.

"We can be proud of our family," Penny Halliwell, matriarch of this generation, said.

A woman with light brown hair looked up, her hand grasping her daughter's, a woman with dark brown hair falling to her shoulders.

"And we will be…" Patty said.

"Forever Charmed," Prue finished. She waved her hand.

In the Manor, no one noticed as the door swung shut by itself, although Piper, Phoebe, and Paige looked to the ceiling and thought of the witches that had gone before them.


End file.
